When you listen to a well played bagpipe tune, it sounds like the piper is playing a gazillion different notes. In reality, a standard set of Great Highland Bagpipes (GHP) actually only play a limited number of notes. When people ask how many notes can a bagpipe play, the simple answer is NINE. G-A-B-C-D-E-F-G-A. Furthermore, the GHB only play in one octave, not counting the drones.
So why does bagpipe music sound like its comprised on MANY more notes? The answer lies in two directions. First, bagpipe music generally has a LOT of gracenotes (notes that sound only for an instant) and these gracenotes can give the illusion of extra tones that are not really present. Also, many of the gracenotes are actually several notes squeezed into nearly zero time and, when well played, simply add to the beauty of the bagpipe music.
The second reason pipes can sound like they have more notes is from harmonics. Harmonics, also called overtones, occur when a notes fundamental frequency is doubled or quadrupled and people can hear the result as a higher note that is not really being played. More on this subject to follow in a later post.
Anyhow, that is a VERY brief explanation of how many notes a set of GHB actually has.
Now go take a bagpipe lesson.