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"Pay or I play." Bagpipes are often the subject of jokes that make fun of the sound of the pipes. The comic of the piper who has has made a pile of money standing in front of a sign that reads "Pay or I play" might be based on this undeniable fact: An out of tune bagpipe sounds painfully bad. Remember: our instrument is special. The pipes have a continuous sound and are very loud. The pipes have four separate reeds. A bagpipe can get quite out of tune — and there's no hiding from it. This brings us to today's important topic, a skill every piper should master: Tuning Drones. Each drone makes a single sound: A. When properly tuned, the two tenor drones each make an identical sound. The bass drone is also A, but one octave lower. We change the pitch of a drone by moving the drone top up or down. ...