Description
Galician Gaita – Bagpipe made with the finest materials. “The (Galician) gaita or gaita de foles is a traditional bagpipe of Galicia, Asturias and northern Portugal. The name gaita is used in Galician and Spanish across northern Spain as a generic term for “bagpipe”, although in the south of Spain and Portugal it denotes a variety of horn, flute or oboe like instruments according to region. Bagpipes in Spain are traditionally found across the north and centre, most notably in Asturias and Galicia, but also in León, Aragon, Extremadura, Zamora, the island of Majorca and the neighbouring areas of northern Portugal: Minho and Trás-os-Montes. The Galician gaita has a conical chanter and a bass drone (ronco) with a second octave. It may have one or two additional drones playing the tonicand dominant notes. Three keys are traditional: D (gaita grileira, lit. “cricket bagpipe”). Description: The player inflates the bag using his mouth through a tube fitted with a non-return valve. Air is driven into the chanter (Galician: punteiro) with the left arm controlling the pressure inside the bag. The chanter has a double reed similar to a shawm or oboe, and a conical bore with seven finger-holes on the front. The bass drone (ronco or roncón) is situated on the player’s left shoulder and is pitched two octaves below the key note of the chanter; it has a single reed. Some bagpipes have up to two more drones, including the ronquillo or ronquilla, which sticks out from the bag and plays an octave above the ronco, or the smaller chillón. These two extra drones are located next to the right arm of the player. The finger-holes include three for the left hand and four for the right, as well as one at the back for the left thumb. The chanter’s tonic is played with the top six holes and the thumb hole covered by fingers. Starting at the bottom and (in the Galician fingering pattern) progressively opening holes creates the diatonic scale. Using techniques like cross-fingering and half-holing, the chromatic scalecan be created. With extra pressure on the bag, the reed can be played in a second octave, thus giving range of an octave and a half from tonic to top note. It is also possible to close the tone hole with the little finger of the right hand, thus creating a semitone below the tonic.
