The gaita de boto is a type of bagpipe native to the Aragon

Aragon

Aragon is a modern autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. Located in northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces : Huesca, Zaragoza, and Teruel. Its capital is Zaragoza...

 region of northern Spain.

Its use and construction were nearly extinct by the 1970s, when a revival of folk music began. Today there are various gaita builders, various schools and associations for gaita players, and more than a dozen Aragonese folk music groups which include the instrument in their ensemble. Most importantly, there are now several hundred gaiteros within Aragon.

Construction

The gaita de boto consists of

• a bag (boto) to provide air
• a blowpipe (soplador) to fill the bag with air by mouth
• a chanter (clarín) to play the melody
• a bass drone (bordón) to produce a continuous bass note
• a tenor drone (bordoneta) which produces a constant note an octave higher than the bordón

The bag is traditionally made of goatskin

Goatskin

Goatskin may refer to:* Goatskin , the skin of a goat or the leather made from it* Goatskin , a container for wine...

 and of large volume. At the hole in the skin corresponding to the neck of the goat they attach a stock with two holes where the clarín and bordoneta are placed side by side. It is the only bagpipe in Iberia

Iberian Peninsula

The Iberian Peninsula , sometimes called Iberia, is located in the extreme southwest of Europe and includes the modern-day sovereign states of Spain, Portugal and Andorra, as well as the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar...

 where the chanter and drone are placed parallel to one another. At holes placed further back they insert a stock to insert the blowpipe, and another for the bordón.

The location of the bordón is also distinctive, below the right arm of the player, as opposed to the standard Galician and Asturian bagpipe traditions which place the bordón over the shoulder.

The boto is covered with a fabric bag covering, resembling a child's dress often with a colourful pattern. There is a folk belief that the origin of the custom is that a piper in antiquity dressed his gaita in the clothing of his deceased daughter as a memorial.

The drones have reinforcing rings of pewter

Pewter

Pewter is a malleable metal alloy, traditionally 85–99% tin, with the remainder consisting of copper, antimony, bismuth and lead. Copper and antimony act as hardeners while lead is common in the lower grades of pewter, which have a bluish tint. It has a low melting point, around 170–230 °C ,...

 or horn, and some players also, whether out of fashion or superstition

Superstition

Superstition is a belief in supernatural causality: that one event leads to the cause of another without any process in the physical world linking the two events....

, wrap various portions of the pipes with snakeskin

Snakeskin

Snakeskin may refer to:*Snakeskin, a material that is made from the skin of a snake*Snakeskin , a song by Australian band Gyroscope*Snakeskin , a New Zealand film*Snakeskin , a side project of Tilo Wolff from Lacrimosa*Snakeskin Glacier...

.

Acoustic characteristics

The double-reeded chanter allows open or semi-closed fingering. It is generally pitched in the key of C major, which also allows playing in the relative key of A minor. The chanter's range is from B to C an octave above. The bordón is pitched at C, as is the bordonetta (an octave higher). Gaitas me also be found pitched in D or B.

Use

The gaita de boto is principally used to accompany traditional and ritual dances. Currently it is used in such cases, promoted by the general recuperation and restoration of nearly-extinct ancient dances. However, the gaita has also reached larger popularity with Aragonese folk music groups, and has been used in their compositions. Groups such as Ixo Rai, La Ronda de Boltaña, Somerondón, La Orquestina del Fabirol, Lurte, and Biella Nuei

Biella Nuei

-Discography:* Las Aves y las Flores * Solombra * Sol d'ibierno * Romper el muro...

 have increased the prominence of the gaita de boto within Aragon and abroad.

Traditionally, the gaita de boto was a solo instrument. It was also be played with the trompa de Ribagorza

Trompa de Ribagorza

The trompa de Ribagorza is a double-reeded wind instrument, revived by Mariano Pascual based oi instruments preserved in Graus, similar to those used in the 19th Century by the pipers of Caserras del Castillo and other areas in Baja Ribagorza Oriental....

 until the start of the 1900s. Following its revival, the gaita has frequently been played with the dulzaina

Dulzaina

The dulzaina or dolçaina is a Spanish double reed instrument in the oboe family. It has a conical shape and is the equivalent of the Breton bombarde....

and drum and played alongside many other acoustic and electric instruments in folk music groups.