The three drones are usually tuned to A, the two smallest one octave below the A of the chaunter, and the largest two octaves below. The three principal methods of tuning the drones are shown as follows:—[[6]][[7]]
The excessive use of ornamental notes on the Highland bag-pipe has arisen from a technical peculiarity of the instrument, which makes a repetition of the same note difficult without the interpolation of what is known among pipers as "cuts" or "warblers," i.e. grace notes fingered with great rapidity (see below for an example). These warblers, which consist not only of single notes but of groups of from three to seven notes, not consecutive but in leaps, assist in relieving the constant discord with the drone bass. Skilful pipers have been known to introduce warblers of as many as eleven notes between two beats in a bar.
The use of musical notation for the Highland pipe tunes is a recent innovation; the pipers used verbal equivalents for the notes; for instance, the piobaireachd Coghiegh nha Shie, "War of peace,"[[8]] which opens as shown here, was taken down by Capt. Niel MacLeod from the piper John McCrummen of Skye as verbally taught to apprentices as follows:—
"Hodroho, hodroho, haninin, hiechin,
Hodroha, hodroho, hodroho, hachin,
Hiodroho, hodroho, haninin, hiechin," &c.
The conclusion of the tune is thus expressed:
"Hiundratatateriri, hiendatatateriri, hiundratatateriri, hiundratatateriri."[[9]]