Galician gaita
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The (Galician) gaita or gaita de fol is a traditional bagpipe used in Galicia (Spain), and northern Portugal.
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[edit] Name
The name gaita is used in Galician, Spanish, Asturian and Portuguese as a generic term for "bagpipe". According to Joan Corominas, it may come from gaits, the Gothic word for "goat", the skin generally used for the bag. The word may also be derived from the Latin "caetras", or "gaethas", an instrument attributed to the Celts in the Iberian Roman Provence of Gallaecia, by Silius Italicus. The name has other regional meanings; see gaita.
[edit] The instrument
The Galician gaita has a conical chanter and a bass drone (ronco) with a second octave. It may have one or two additional drones playing the tonic and dominant notes. Three keys are traditional: D (gaita grileira, lit. "cricket bagpipe"), C, and Bb. Galician pipe bands playing these instruments have become popular in recent years.
The playing of close harmony (thirds and sixths) with two gaitas of the same key is a typical Galacian gaita style.
[edit] Famous Galician gaita players
- Carlos Núñez
- Cristina Pato
- Susana Seivane
- John Millan
- Fernando Vázquez
- Milladoiro
- Luar na Lubre
