Retired Special Education Teacher One of Handful of People Who Plays Outlawed Border Pipes
Robert Mitchell, after 34 years of teaching in Maryland public schools, promotes border pipes in the US by playing at weddings and endeavoring to educate the public.


    SHEPARDSTOWN, WV, November 13, 2008 /Tennessee News Articles/ -- The Border Pipes resemble the Scottish Highland bagpipes in that they are both technically bagpipes, but that's about it.

The Highland bagpipes are familiar to most people and are the type played in a bagpipe band or in a Boston St. Patrick's Day parade. But the Border Pipes are meant to be played indoors with other instruments.

Robert "Bob" Mitchell is one of only a dozen people in the United States who not only owns a set of border pipes he plays, but he teaches people how to play them, also.

"In the 1700s, the border pipes suffered a horrible blow to their existence when the English were trying take control of all of Great Britain," said Mr. Mitchell. "The crown decreed that anyone who was caught with border pipes would be executed."

"Therefore, most people simply used them as firewood and burned them." And therefore the border pipes - which play softer, happier, music - were lost for over 200 years. Only in the 1970s were they "re-created" from a picture from the 18th century, which shows that the border pipes - unlike the Highland Pipes - were actually meant to be played inside.

Now the border pipes can be played without fear of beheading and are much more suitable for playing indoors or with other instruments like the flute or the violin, said Mitchell.

"The hardest thing for me to do," said Mitchell, "is to educate people about the border pipe - that it actually sounds better than the highland pipe in a church or even a small room."

Often, Mitchell is asked to play bagpipes at a wedding or funeral because most people have never heard of border pipes. "And I have to tell people that I can do what they want, but play an instrument they've never seen may actually sound better," he said.

For more information about the border pipes or the highland bagpipes, please visit www.thereelpiper.com.

Further Related Resources:


Press Release Contact Information:

Larry Elliott
Larry Elliott
Owner
407 Newberry Ct
Goodlettsville, Tn
USA 37072
Voice: 615-568-3138
Website: Visit Our Website