The Gaida: Bulgaria’s traditional bagpipe and the voice of centuries

From the village square to the grand concert stage, the Bulgarian bagpipe known as "gaida" has accompanied songs, festivities and rituals for centuries. Today, it is not only one of Bulgaria’s most recognisable folk instruments, but also a living tradition recognised by UNESCO.

Powerful, rich, resonant and deeply moving, the voice of the Bulgarian "gaida" is part of Bulgaria’s sonic memory. For Bulgarians, it symbolises home and the place where we come from. For centuries, its sound has been an integral part of our festive and ritual life. Today, the bagpipe is not merely part of the country's folk heritage, but one of the most vivid emblems of Bulgarian culture.

The craft of making a bagpipe and the skill of playing it are arts passed down through generations. Many Bulgarians think of it as a traditional Bulgarian instrument, yet it is by no means unique to Bulgaria. The most familiar form of the bagpipe has been widespread throughout Europe since the Middle Ages.

Almost every European nation has developed its own version of the instrument, and similar instruments can be found in other parts of the world.

Today, bagpipes are particularly popular in the Balkans, including Bulgaria, Serbia, North Macedonia, Greece, Albania and Türkiye.

In Scotland, they are a symbol of national identity. Irish and Spanish traditional bagpipes are also well known. The instrument is found in North Africa, Western Asia and the Caucasus as well.

The history of the bagpipe stretches far back into antiquity and is difficult to trace. It is believed that the first instruments of this kind appeared at least 1,000 years before Christ, although some sources place their origins as far back as the sixth millennium BC.

According to historical accounts, the Roman emperor Nero, a passionate lover of music and theatre, played the bagpipe. In Rome, however, the instrument had actually been introduced from Ancient Greece, and the Greeks may have borrowed it from the Hittites.

Some researchers believe that the bagpipe was part of the musical culture of the ancient Thracians. Even Herodotus, the “Father of History”, wrote that the Thracian people used the instrument “only for praise”.

The Bulgarian bagpipe ("gaida") is a bag-powered wind instrument consisting of a leather bag ("meh"), a blowpipe ("duhalo"), a chanter ("gaidunitsa"), a drone pipe ("ruchilo"), reeds ("piskuni") and connecting stocks ("glavini").

Traditionally, the bag is made from treated goat or lamb skin and serves as an air reservoir. The piper blows air into it through the blowpipe and regulates the air pressure with the help of the elbow.

The chanter is the melodic part of the instrument. It has finger holes that allow the player to produce notes of different pitches.

The drone pipe provides a continuous, low fundamental tone over which the melody unfolds, giving the bagpipe its distinctive sound.

Particularly important are the reeds ("piskuni"), small vibrating components that turn the flow of air into sound.

Making a bagpipe requires exceptional craftsmanship. Its wooden parts are traditionally made from dogwood, plum and other hardwoods, while tuning the instrument calls for precision and experience. A fine bagpipe is the result not only of good materials, but also of the maker’s skill.

Two main types of bagpipe are known in Bulgarian musical tradition: the djura gaida, which is smaller, and the kaba gaida, which is larger. A Macedonian bagpipe is also found in the southwestern regions.

The djura gaida has a higher, clear and powerful sound. It is widespread throughout Bulgaria, from Moesia, Deliorman and Dobrudzha to the Balkan Mountains, Sredna Gora, Northern, Eastern and Western Thrace, Strandzha, the Shopluk region, Graovo, the Western Outlands and Pirin Macedonia. It is played both as a solo instrument and in ensembles, accompanying songs and dances.

The Macedonian gaida is found in the southwestern part of Pirin Macedonia, as well as in Vardar and Aegean Macedonia. Its tuning lies between that of the dzhura and kaba bagpipes, giving it a medium-high pitch.

The kaba gaida is the musical voice of the Rhodope Mountains. Larger in size, it has a lower, deeper, softer and fuller timbre, and is closely tied to the region’s folk traditions. Rhodope traditional round dances ("horo") are performed to its accompaniment, while the slow melodies played on the kaba bagpipe are among the most emblematic treasures of Bulgarian folk music.

A museum in the Rhodopes tells the story of the Bulgarian bagpipe

An ensemble of several kaba bagpipes creates a striking soundscape. Over the past half-century, the celebrated orchestra 100 Kaba Bagpipes has become a symbol of Bulgarian ensemble playing on this instrument. Founded in 1961 by folklorist Apostol Kisyov, the orchestra gave its first concert performance that same year at the Rozhen folk gathering, held in the village of the same name in the Rhodope Mountain in southwestern Bulgaria.

On 16 May 2012, in the National Palace of Culture in Sofia, 333 Rhodope kaba bagpipers, representing four generations of musicians from across Bulgaria, played fragments of traditional Rhodope melodies together for nine minutes and thirteen seconds. Their performance set an official mass-participation record recognised by Guinness World Records, surpassing the previous record held by 240 Scottish bagpipers playing simultaneously.

When "100 kaba bagpipes" play together, time comes to a standstill

The bagpipe is not merely an artefact of the past. Knowledge of how to make the instrument and the skills needed to play it are passed from one generation to the next, from master to apprentice, within families, at community cultural centres, in music schools and in folk ensembles. This living bond between generations has helped bring international recognition to the Bulgarian bagpipe.

In 2025, UNESCO inscribed “Bagpipes and Bagpipe Playing in Bulgaria: Transmission of Knowledge and Skills” on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. The decision highlights the importance of the practices that allow the tradition to evolve and be passed on to future generations.

The Bulgarian bagpipe has also made its mark beyond the country’s borders. One of the most powerful symbols of the international reach of Bulgarian musical tradition is the song Izlel e Delyo Haydutin, performed by Valya Balkanska with bagpipers Stefan Zahmanov and Lazar Kanevski. The recording is included in the musical selection on the Golden Record carried aboard Voyager 1, the spacecraft launched from Cape Canaveral in 1977 and reported to have left the Solar System in 2004. The record, which contains images and sounds from Earth, was designed to preserve a part of our planet’s heritage for future generations and to serve as a message to extraterrestrial civilisations. In this way, the voice of Bulgaria's Rhodope musical tradition became part of a message from Earth to the cosmos.

"Izlel e Delyo Haydutin" – the Bulgarian cosmic tale

A number of performers and teachers have helped popularise the Bulgarian bagpipe. Among them is Kostadin Varimezov from Strandzha, one of Bulgaria’s most celebrated bagpipers, known as the “king of the Bulgarian bagpipe” and “Saint Kostadin of folk music”. He was among the artists who brought the Bulgarian bagpipe into the world’s musical encyclopaedias.

He performed across Europe, Asia and America and was one of the first Bulgarian musicians not only to present the country’s folk music at concerts and festivals around the world, but also to live abroad for extended periods and teach Bulgarian folklore there.

Today, the bagpipe continues to sound out at folk festivals and gatherings, in community cultural centres and music schools, on concert stages and in contemporary musical projects. For Bulgarians, it is neither a museum relic nor simply an ancient instrument preserved as a keepsake. It is a living body of knowledge, continually passed on, developed and heard.

The bagpipe is made of wood, skin and air. But what makes it a symbol is human memory. As long as there are children learning to play, craftspeople making instruments and audiences who recognise and cherish this sound, Bulgaria’s bagpipe tradition will remain a vibrant part of the country’s cultural identity.

Read more about the Bulgarian bagpipe and Bulgarian bagpipe players:

Petyo Kostadinov: The bagpipe is constant source of ideas and new musical discoveries

Singer Yordanka Ilieva and bagpiper Ilia Dimitrov, famous folk musicians and a family couple

Visiting the workshop of Rhodope master bagpiper Iliya Uchikov

How the town of Aksakovo became home to the first girls' bagpipe group in Bulgaria

105th anniversary of the birth of legendary piper Dafo Trendafilov

Stefan Borgodjiisky from Rome: The Gaida is the link between my two countries - Bulgaria and Italy