Included: a complimentary orientation course (up to 5 online lessons) with every Lindsay System Scottish Smallpipes set ordered from this page. We’ll cover setup, bellows control, tuning, maintenance, and a clear starter path for technique & repertoire. One-to-one lessons (details) — please contact to arrange your included course. Lindsay System Scottish Smallpipes Availability & Ordering When complete sets of Lindsay System Scottish Smallpipes are in stock, they will be listed here and can be purchased directly via this page. At other times, delivery times will be as follows If you’d prefer to secure a build slot in advance, you can place an advance order via the deposit link. Current deposit options are: 100% (delivery within three months) 50% (delivery within six months) 20% (delivery within one year) 10% (delivery within two years) Configuration options: to discuss set type, configuration options, or any questions before ordering, please email [email protected] or message @lindstruments on social media. New members are always welcome in the “Lindsay System Chanter” Facebook group. Instrument overviewLindsay System Scottish Smallpipes are an innovative set of smallpipes built around the Lindsay System chanter – a keyless, extended-range Scottish smallpipes chanter with a practical range of almost three octaves. The project has been covered in detail in a series of articles in the National Piping Centre’s magazine Piping Today (2018–2020), and was featured on Scottish TV’s “Live at Five” (24 January 2018). About the chanterThe Lindsay System Chanter was developed by Donald WG Lindsay in Scotland between 2006 and 2018. It is the original Lindsay System smallpipes chanter and the core of Lindstruments’ work. Workshop plans were published in Piping Today issue 97, and a growing community of makers and players is supported via the Facebook groups “Lindsay System Chanter” and “LSC Makers Circle”. In January 2019, three significant Lindsay System prototype sets were added to the museum collection of The National Piping Centre in Glasgow. For more detail on the chanter’s design and capabilities, including video and audio, please select Chanter Information from the menu. Fingering Charts Here are fingering charts providing insight into the range available, and the techniques to access the new notes. As can be seen here, the nine-note range is playable using standard Scottish smallpipe fingering technique. The new notes are then added one-at-a-time within the approach recommended for the chanter: Click or tap the thumbnails to change chart. Tap the large image to view it full size. × Hear the chanter Listen to the Lindsay System Chanter in context on these recordings: Where you may have heard it The Lindsay System features on acclaimed artist albums and on the soundtracks of The Outrun (2024) and My Old School (2022), with coverage on Scottish TV (The Riverside Show, Live at Five) and BBC Scotland’s The Nine. DronesTo support the full range of the Lindsay System Chanter, these smallpipes are supplied with four drones, along the lines of an A/D combination set: Bass A/B Baritone D/E Tenor A/B Alto D/E The inclusion of an alto D/E drone provides better support for second-register playing on the Lindsay System Chanter and improved drone support when playing in D and G. Bag, reeds and stocksEach set is supplied with: Eezedrone synthetic drone reeds (Pipe Dreams) A cane chanter reed A Canmore hybrid bag The main stock and blowpipe stock use a screw-threaded clamping system rather than traditional tying-in. Any replacement Canmore bags purchased via Lindstruments are pre-cut with holes precisely sized for these screw-threaded clamps. Bags can be supplied in large, medium or small as required. Brass liningsDrones are currently fully brass-lined, top and bottom. The tuning chamber of each drone is formed entirely from thin-walled brass. This approach, used by Donald throughout his smallpiping career, is intended to provide a clear, resonant, stable tone. O-rings and jointsThe entire set uses O-rings in dovetail grooves for airtightness. Drone stock tenons are screw-threaded to avoid slippage while tuning. Tuning slide joints are still hemped in the traditional way, allowing the player to set slide firmness to taste. Drone stop capsFour decorative end caps hang on short hand-twisted cords from the drones. Each cap has an O-ring in its circumference that fits into a groove around the top of each drone, with a second O-ring on the drone end to give a double seal when the drone is stopped. BellowsAs of September 2018, Lindsay System smallpipes are supplied as standard with bellows made by Niall Kelleher, available in either large “uilleann” size or 3/4 smallpipe size. Bag cover and finishSets come as standard with a teal velvet bag cover made to measure by Debbie Covers and Crafts of Glasgow. The cover is edged with a patterned gold-coloured trim, and drone cords are coloured to match the set. Alternative materials and colours are available on request. ShippingShipping is arranged by courier once your pipes are ready; shipping payment is taken at that point. Within the UK, we normally use tracked, insured services suitable for high-value instruments. For overseas orders, including the USA and Canada, we can arrange fully insured courier shipping and are happy to provide weight and dimensions if you prefer to organise your own courier. We’ll confirm options and cost with you before dispatch. Materials and further informationLindstruments is known within the Scottish piping and traditional music community for the use of new materials and manufacturing processes. For more about this aspect of the work, please follow the link on this page. A regular Facebook live workshop covers technique and repertoire for these pipes and includes live Q&A. To take part, send a join request to the Lindsay System Chanter Facebook group. /* Fingering charts – main image + three thumbnails */ .lsc-fingering-gallery { margin: 8px 0 16px 0; max-width: 720px; } .lsc-fingering-main { width: 100%; background: #fff; border: 1px solid #eee; border-radius: 8px; padding: 8px; display: inline-flex; align-items: center; justify-content: center; box-sizing: border-box; } #lsc-fingering-main-img { max-width: 100%; max-height: 100%; height: auto; width: auto; display: block; cursor: zoom-in; } .lsc-fingering-thumbs { margin-top: 8px; display: flex; gap: 8px; justify-content: center; flex-wrap: nowrap; } .lsc-fingering-thumb { border: 1px solid #ddd; border-radius: 4px; padding: 0; background: #fff; cursor: pointer; flex: 1 1 0; aspect-ratio: 4 / 3; overflow: hidden; } .lsc-fingering-thumb img { width: 100%; height: 100%; object-fit: contain; display: block; } .lsc-fingering-thumb.is-active { border-color: #111; } .lsc-fingering-caption { font-size: 0.9rem; opacity: 0.85; margin-top: 4px; } @media (max-width: 600px) { .lsc-fingering-gallery { max-width: 100%; } } /* Lightbox */ .lsc-fingering-lightbox { position: fixed; inset: 0; background: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.75); display: none; align-items: center; justify-content: center; z-index: 9999; } .lsc-fingering-lightbox.is-open { display: flex; } .lsc-fingering-lightbox-inner { max-width: 90vw; max-height: 90vh; background: #fff; border-radius: 8px; padding: 10px; box-sizing: border-box; position: relative; } .lsc-fingering-lightbox-inner img { max-width: 100%; max-height: 80vh; display: block; } .lsc-fingering-lightbox-close { position: absolute; top: 4px; right: 8px; border: none; background: transparent; font-size: 1.8rem; line-height: 1; cursor: pointer; } /* Reels grid */ .lsc-reels-wrap { margin-top: 18px; } .lsc-reels-grid { display: grid; grid-template-columns: 1fr; gap: 18px; } @media (min-width: 640px) { .lsc-reels-grid { grid-template-columns: repeat(2, 1fr); } } @media (min-width: 900px) { .lsc-reels-grid { grid-template-columns: repeat(3, 1fr); } } .lsc-reel { position: relative; width: 100%; padding-top: 177.78%; border: 1px solid #eee; border-radius: 12px; overflow: hidden; background: #000; } .lsc-reel iframe { position: absolute; inset: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; border: 0; } .lsc-reels-title { margin: 8px 0 10px; font-weight: 700; } Lindsay System Chanter — a few tunes
