Pibroch

Pronunciation
Scots Gaelic:	Bàrluath
Pronunciation:	[ˈpaːrˠlˠ̪əɣ]
Scots Gaelic:	Binneas is Boraraig
Pronunciation:	[ˈpiɲəs̪ əs̪ ˈpɔɾəɾɛkʲ]
Scots Gaelic:	Canntaireachd
Pronunciation:	[ˈkʰaun̪ˠt̪ɛɾʲəxk]
Scots Gaelic:	Ceòl Beag
Pronunciation:	[kʲʰɔlˠ̪ˈpek]
Scots Gaelic:	Ceòl Mór
Pronunciation:	[kʲʰɔlˠ̪ˈmoːɾ]
Scots Gaelic:	Crùnluath
Pronunciation:	[ˈkʰɾuːn̪ˠlˠ̪əɣ]
Scots Gaelic:	Dithis
Pronunciation:	[ˈtʲi.ɪʃ]
Scots Gaelic:	Leumluath
Pronunciation:	[ˈʎeːmlˠ̪əɣ]
Scots Gaelic:	Pìobaire
Pronunciation:	[ˈpʰiːpɛɾʲə]
Scots Gaelic:	Pìobaireachd
Pronunciation:	[ˈpʰiːpɛɾʲəxk]
Scots Gaelic:	Siubhal
Pronunciation:	[ˈʃu.əlˠ̪]
Scots Gaelic:	Taorluath
Pronunciation:	[ˈt̪ɯːrˠlˠ̪əɣ]
Scots Gaelic:	Ùrlar
Pronunciation:	[ˈuːrˠlˠ̪əɾ]

Pibroch, Piobaireachd or Ceòl Mòr is an art music genre associated primarily with the Scottish Highlands that is characterised by extended compositions with a melodic theme and elaborate formal variations. Strictly meaning "piping" in Scottish Gaelic, piobaireachd has for some four centuries been music of the Great Highland Bagpipe. Music of a similar nature, pre-dating the adoption on the Highland pipes, has historically been played on the wire-strung Gaelic harp (clarsach) and later on the Scottish fiddle, and this form is undergoing a revival.

A more general term is ceol mor (Scottish Gaelic: ceòl mòr (reformed spelling); ceòl mór (unreformed spelling)), meaning the "great music", to distinguish this complex extended art-music from the more popular Scottish music such as dances, reels, marches and strathspeys, which are called ceòl beag or "little music".

The Gaelic word Piobaireachd literally means "piping" or "act of piping." The word is derived from pìob ("pipes") via pìobaire ("piper") plus the abstract forming suffix -eachd. In Gaelic, pìobaireachd literally refers to any pipe music, not merely ceòl mór (lit. "big music"). Pibroch is a spelling variant first attested in Lowland Scots in 1719.

Bagpipe societies, such as the Glasgow-based Piobaireachd Society, have commonly employed the term piobaireachd as a synonym for ceol mor played on the Great Highland Bagpipes. The term piobaireachd or pibroch is also historically employed to describe ceol mor related repertoire played on instruments other than bagpipes, particularly the Scottish fiddle.

Pibroch is properly expressed by minute and often subtle variations in note duration and tempo. Traditionally, the music was taught using a system of unique chanted vocables referred to as Canntaireachd, an effective method of denoting the various movements in pibroch music, and assisting the learner in proper expression and memorization of the tune. The predominant vocable system used today is the Nether Lorn canntaireachd sourced from the Campbell Canntaireachd manuscripts (1797 & 1814) and used in the subsequent Piobaireachd Society books.

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Wikipedia