Teach Yourself Bagpipes

Doublings - General Principles

A 'doubling' is a way of accenting, or making more prominent, a note.

It works by firstly playing a gracenote to a note (a little accent) and then by repeating the note by 'cutting' it into two using another gracenote.

Long ago, doublings and all other embellishments were called 'cuttings'. Some gracenotes have the job of making a note stand out, whilst others have the job of cutting it. Understanding these two different tasks will greatly help in mastering doublings.

Exactly when the gracenotes should be opened and closed in relation to the beats is a question of interpretation and should be approached freshly in each case. However one can say that typically and most frequently, the first gracenote opens before the beat and closes the note to be doubled (or accented) on the beat, with the second gracenote making a small cut thereafter.

Each note has its own doubling. Please click on the doubling below to learn what it is and how to play it, along with 3 simple exercises for each doubling.

Below are 3 more exercises to learn and play along with the video. When you can do this comfortably, you are ready for the next section.
Please use the 5 steps method to practise them solidly - it will speed up your learning later.

Doublings General Exercise 1

Doublings General Exercise 2

Doublings General Exercise 3

Teach Yourself Bagpipes by Lindsay Davidson