Air Pipes - Bagpipes for iPhone

Submitted by Jennifer, 3 October, 2012

Last updated on 4 October, 2017

Description of App

Play the bagpipes on your iPhone!

Featured on STV, The Scottish Sun and DailyRecord.co.uk

“... a technical triumph”
— Stuff.co.nz

“... the bagpipes app that certainly stirs the soul”
— NZ Herald

FUN and EASY for anyone to play. Just blow into the microphone to start piping like a true highlander.

LEARN TO PLAY the bagpipe classics:

Amazing Grace
Auld Lang Syne
Scotland the Brave
Flower of Scotland *
Highland Cathedral *
The Rowan Tree
Yankee Doodle
God Save The Queen
... and more!

FEATURES

Authentic Scottish sound sampled from real Great Highland Bagpipes.
Blow into the microphone to top up the air, or tap the "hold" button to keep level constant.
Step-up your skills with timing and accuracy scores.
Test your talent by competing with others on Game Center.
Download FREE Scottish Small Pipes instrument pack.
Customise the look of your Air Pipes.
Enjoy lush reverb effects for a big, full sound (iOS 5 only).
Adjust the volume of the drone and chanter.
AutoBlow function if your device doesn't have a microphone or if you're feeling out of breath :)

Keep an eye out for future updates - more tunes and features to come!

* Copyrighted tunes can be purchased within the app. This covers the cost of licensing the music. All current and future public domain tunes will remain free of charge.

Version

1.4

Free or Paid

Paid

Apple Watch Support

Not Known

Device(s) App Was Tested On

iPhone

Accessibility Comments

I have set my bagpipe to autoblow as I couldn't get the app to consistently work correctly with the manual blow. You will also need to pick a song which is free like Happy Birthday to get started. Once you have all your settings in place, return to the main screen of the app and turn VoiceOver off. I am able to touch the middle of the screen where the "Hold" button is and the airpipe will begin. There's three keys on each side of your screen if you are holding it in portrait position, for a total of six keys. You can then tap the tune out for the song you have chosen. I have a terrible ear so "Happy Birthday" has been rather challenging for me. To stop the auto-blow, just close the app and turn VO back on. Please note that this app has worked more consistently since I re-installed it a few days ago after the original download. For some reason it didn't want to work for awhile so I just removed and started over. That would be my first suggestion if you get stuck as unloading it from the App Switcher didn't seem to do much.

VoiceOver Performance

VoiceOver reads most page elements.

Button Labeling

Most buttons are clearly labeled.

Usability

There are some minor accessibility issues with this app, but they are easy to deal with.

Other Comments

The price is $1.99 and it has worked fine since I re-installed it. I have not had any reason not to recommend it, but I admit it didn't always work correctly the first time I used it. If there's a guide on the screen for which keys you need to push, it cannot be accessed.

App Store Link

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/air-pipes-bagpipes-for-iphone/id490891516?mt=8&…

Developer's Website

http://elucidcode.com/

Recommendations

1 people have recommended this app

Most recently recommended by Jennifer 10 years 11 months ago

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Comments

Great app. Get it now, while

Great app. Get it now, while it's free! Founded a nap three this morning. And ordering it for a long time, and I was planning to buy a next month. I'm glad I found this deal!q

Odd. your comment just showed

Odd. your comment just showed up even though it's the 21st. Downloaded it and will give it a whirl when no one is in teh house as I'm sure I'll sound just gosh awful lol! Happy holidays everyone.

Fun app, but I'm a lousy player!

Hi! Having read the comment yesterday that the Air Pipes app had gone free, I decided to get it yesterday, and I tried it out this morning. I admit I set it to auto-blow straight away, so that I could lay my phone on my desk and do the fingering more easily. However, judging by my several very poor attempts at "Happy birthday" today, I am currently a very bad bagpipe player with this app: hopefully I'll improve with more practice, and once I've got used to where to put my fingers to get particular notes. I certainly don't regret getting this app, though, it's good fun! And if you play the bagpipes on your i-device on a low volume it won't frighten the neighbours away. (Smile).

This app is NSFW! :)

So, it is a slow Friday here at work. I was browsing the Apple Vis site and stumbled on the review for this app! Being a huge fan of bag pipes, but knowing I may never get the chance to learn to play real ones, (and I don't think I'd be real comfortable in a Kilt anyway), I had to grab this app! Well, being a big kid with a new app toy, I couldn't wait till I fled to the privacy of my own home to try out Air Pipes! So, I launched the app, disabled VoiceOver and started to blow and tap away! Within thirty seconds, I had two coworkers running in to my office like the building was on fire and my desk was the only exit to investigate that "God aweful noise!" After explaining to them I was learning to play virtual bag pipes on my iPhone and briefly demonstrating the app, they slowly retreated like two mathmaticians who had just been told two plus two is eight! I can only imagine the facial expressions! Where is a great description from TapTapSee when you need it most! Anyway, my point, if you purchase this app (and I recommend you do if you, like me, enjoy bag pipes) take my advice and don't play at work until you've had some practice in the privacy of your own home! Thanks for posting about this app and for the comments! I haven't had this much fun for $1.99 since . . . ok, I probably shouldn't post about that here! Anyhow, if any of you are my neighbors, I appologize now for the upcoming weekend of sounds from a wanna be bag piper with a new app! Jim

iBagpipes?

Bagpipes...for Apple's "I" devices? The mind boggles while the ears shudder. ;)