Gaida bulgara

The Bulgarian Bagpipe or gaida is a surprisingly flexible instrument due to the tradition of harmonic changes in the folk music it is associated with. Unlike most bagpipes, which are played exclusively against drones and can only play in one mode, the gaida is often heard in ensembles with kaval (an end blown flute, gadulka (a folk fiddle) and drums. The bag is a whole goat, carefully skinned in one piece (more peeled than skinned) with the chanter tied into the neck hole, the blow-pipe and drone tied into the foreleg holes and the back end tied off. It is known as a dry bag, meaning the leather isn't tanned, but simply turned inside out with the fur on the inside handling the moisture, and only seasoned occasionally on the outside with lanolin. Another interesting feature it shares with other East European bagpipes is the single reed chanter . All Western bagpipes have a double reed, much like a primitive oboe reed, but Eastern bagpipes tend to have a single reed tied to a wooden stock, a little like a mini clarinet or saxophone mouthpiece. This gives it a more plaintive wailing tone, compared to the courser Western bagpipes. It also makes the high notes the strong notes, unlike the Highland pipes which are notoriously weak when they reach up to their top note.