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As pipers, we're constantly reminded of our links with piping's rich and interesting history. Whether it's the famous pipers of generations gone by or the great tunes that we still play today, there's simply no denying the importance of our ancient piping traditions. However, most of our connections with piping history are through the names of pipers, composers, and the people, places, and events that are remembered today because they had a tune named for them. Some of our most famous pipe tunes are over 200 years old. A few lucky pipers play set of pipes from a great era of pipemaking -- from around the turn of the previous century to around the Great War. But what about the pipes from the 1800s, 1700s, or earlier? There are very few instruments or reeds that survive from the 1700s or earlier. Iain Dall MacKay (1656-1754) is one of the greats of piping. He is best ...