I love small tunes. The smaller the better, I say. Nothing captures the liveliness and character of bagpiping like a tiny reel or quickmarch. Eight bars of music and away ya go. Trouble is, many of these little ditties have been cast aside in our competition-driven bagpiping scene. I’ve tried to remedy that with the Small Tunes series. Small tunes, little strathspeys and reels, tiny jigs, and short marches, tunes full of personality; they form the core of the Highland piper’s repertoire. And there are thousands of them, many of which haven’t been heard in a hundred years or more on the bagpipe.

Below you will find a categorized list of all the tunes in the series to date, in what is the very first serial tunebook for the bagpipes. Each link will take you to the a post that presents either a write up or short podcast with a bit of background on the tune with the printed score for download. Each podcast also contains a rendition of the tune on the bagpipe to accompany the set score. Have a listen to the “Introduction to Small Tunes” podcast for the full gist of the series and then have a look and a listen to the tunes that pique your interest. Enjoy.

An Introduction to Small Tunes

Marches

Chester Castle

Dewar’s Fancy

He’s O’er the Hills That I Love Well

Kilmartin Castle

Lochgilphead

March to the Battlefield

Mary, Young and Fair

O’er the Water to Charlie

Saint Columba

Strathspeys

Ballindalloch’s Dream

The Buckskin Kilt

The Fairy Piper

The Guragag

The Haughs of Cromdale

Miss Haswell’s Favorite

My Lady’s Gown There’s Gairs Upon It

The Red Coat

Thump the Bitches

Reels

Athole House

Big Robert

Cuaich Side

The Death of the Wren

The Falls of Foyers

Had the Lass ‘Till I Win at Her

Home Rule

The Lassie Lost Her Crinoline

Let the Bottle Circulate

Nameless Reel

Hornpipes

Jack Ashore

Jigs

Bung Your Eye!

Cam Ye O’er Frae France

Collin the Piper

The Favorite Dram

A Fig for a Kiss

Give Me a Lass With a Lump o’Land

The Gown and Apron

The Grinder

Jack has Got a Wife

A Jig

Airs and Slow Marches

Deirdre’s Lament

Johnnie, Lad, Cock Up Your Beaver

Keppoch Desolate

The Witch’s Stane

Piobaireachd

Hiharin Hiodreen (One of the Cragich)

Hodin Hiotra (One of the Cragich)

One of the Irish Piobaireachd