What exactly are bagpipes?

Bagpipes are actually four reed instruments packed into one package. The melodic tune you hear comes from the pipe chanter which should not be confused with the practice chanter.  The humming sound that comes from the pipes originates in the three drones seen resting on the piper's shoulder.

What is a reed instrument?

A reed instrument is a cousin to the woodwind instrument.  At some point in history some enterprising musician stuck a reed in some kind of early flute, and an entire new sound was born.  Other reed instruments include the saxophone, the clarinet and the oboe among many others.

What exactly is a reed?

A reed is just that...a reed; a grassy plant often seen growing in marshy areas.  If you manipulate two pieces of grass together, you can press them against your lips and make a whistle-like sound.  Remember when you did this with a plastic straw in grammar school?  Same exact concept.  If you are over 16 years old and still doing this, you need to stop.

When did a bag come into play?

At some point, some reed-pipe playing musician wanted to perform his tunes without stopping to take a breath.  No doubt some king or emperor demanded this...who knows?   Anyway, by attaching reed pipes to an animal skin, the piper allowed himself to have a constant reservoir of air by breathing into the bag using a blowstick.

I'm confused, are the pipes Irish or Scottish?

The great highland bagpipes that the NYPD Pipes & Drums play are basically a Scottish perfection or culmination of ancient reed pipes that in the recent past were played mostly by Celtic peoples.  Reed pipes have been unearthed by archaeologists from cultures as far in the past as 5000 years ago in the middle east.  More recently Celtic people were a vast culture spanning the European continent.  Many people have ancestry that is at least part Celtic including the Scots and Irish (and now Americans by way of those two nations).  Different forms of bagpipes have been found in other European cultures such as in Italy, Germany and Spain.  NYPD pipers play Great Highland bagpipes that are manufactured in Scotland, Ireland and the U.S.

Why do you NYPD officers wear kilts even though you are Americans?  Why blue and not a tartan?

As members of the Emerald Society, we strive to maintain the fact that we at least have Irish blood, however some of us have dual citizenship in Ireland and the US. Wearing a kilt for us is an honor, to give homage to our Irish ancestors as well as Ireland herself.  In 1960, when the band was formed, the original members decided to use a navy blue solid material, to match the color of our police uniform.

Why do you not answer, when asked what you wear under your kilt?

We in the NYPD Pipes & Drums have a very strict self-enforced code of conduct that demands that we refrain from vulgarity.  With that in mind, we are very traditional people.

How can the NYPD afford to have a band your size playing when there is crime and terrorism to be fought?

The NYPD Pipes and Drums is not an official unit of the NYPD.  We are part of an Irish Fraternal Organization the Emerald Society.  As such, we almost never play as a band on duty.  99 percent of the time you see us perform we are off duty on our own time, including our sometimes twice weekly practice.  One exception would be line of duty funerals, however even on those solemn days, 2/3 of the members you see are volunteering their own time.

How much of the NYPD budget goes into funding the Pipe Band?

None.  The Pipes and Drums are entirely self-funded.

I have noted that your band has several pipe and drum sergeants as opposed to the one sergeant other bands all have, why is this?

The NYC Police Department requires that every eight police officers be supervised by one sergeant.  Borrowing that template, and given the size of our band, we find that a handful of musical sergeants are necessary as well.  The members of this band are all actual police officers, with patrol related duties, so at any given time a different cadre of band members, and hopefully one of the sergeants, could be playing one of our several weekly performances.  Musical supervison is required at these jobs to properly tune and lead the band.  Untuned bagpipes sound absolutely awful.

Do you all work in the same precinct?

No. The members of our band work in every corner of the NYPD;  from patrol to emergency services (our SWAT) to various investigative and support commands.