The (Galician) gaita or gaita de foles is a traditional bagpipe of Galicia, Asturias and northern Portugal.
The name gaita is used in Galician and Spanish languages as a generic term for "bagpipe". Bagpipes in Spain are traditionally found across the north and centre, most notably in Asturias and Galicia, but also in León, Aragon, Extremadura, Zamora, the island of Majorca and the neighbouring areas of northern Portugal: Minho and Trás-os-Montes.
Just like "Northumbrian smallpipe"' or "Great Highland Bagpipe", each region attributes its toponym to the respective gaita name: gaita galega (Galicia), gaita transmontana (Trás-os-Montes), gaita asturiana (Asturias), gaita sanabresa (Sanabria), sac de gemecs (Catalonia), gaita de boto or gaita aragonesa (Aragón), etc. Most of them have a conical chanter with a partial second octave, obtained by overblowing, in the same way as e.g. the Eastern European gaida. Folk groups playing these instruments have become popular in recent years, and pipe bands for some models.
Suggestions as to the origin of the name of the instrument are many. The word "gaita" has been compared to the names of eastern European bagpipes, such as gaida, gajda, and gajdy. Joan Coromines has suggested that the word gaita most likely derived from a Gothic word gait or gata, meaning "goat"; as the bag of a gaita is made from a whole, case-skinned goat hide. Gothic was spoken in Spain from the sixth century to the eighth century when the country was ruled by the Visigoths. The Visigoths originated in eastern Europe.
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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 (gaita redonda), and Bb (gaita tumbal). 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 Galician gaita style.
The bagpipe or gaita is known to have been popular in the middle ages, but suffered a decline in popularity from the 16th century until a 19th century revival. It saw another decline in the middle of the 20th century when the Francoist dictatorship tried to use it for propagandistic purposes. Then, beginning in about the 1970s, a roots revival heralded another rebirth. The folk revival may have peaked in the late 1990s, with the release of acclaimed albums by Galician Carlos Núñez (A Irmandade Das Estrelas).
The Gaita has even become popular in the USA with a gathering of the Gaiteiros Californios each year at Lark Camp in California.
Traditional use include both solo performances or with a snare-drum known as tamboril (a wooden natural-skinned drum with gut snares), and the bombo, a bass drum.
Galician bagpipes come in three main varieties, though there are exceptions and unique instruments. These include the tumbal (B-flat), grileira (D) and redonda (C).
The player inflates the bag using his mouth through a tube fitted with a non-return valve. Air is driven into the chanter (Galician: punteiro) with the left arm controlling the pressure inside the bag. The chanter has a double reed similar to a shawm or oboe, and a conical bore with seven finger-holes on the front. The bass drone (ronco or roncón) is situated on the player's left shoulder and is pitched two octaves below the key note of the chanter; it has a single reed. Some bagpipes have up to two more drones, including the ronquillo or ronquilla, which sticks out from the bag and plays an octave above the ronco, or the smaller chillón. These two extra drones are located next to the right arm of the player.
The finger-holes include three for the left hand and four for the right, as well as one at the back for the left thumb. The chanter's tonic is played with the top six holes and the thumb hole covered by fingers. Starting at the bottom and (in the Galician fingering pattern) progressively opening holes creates the diatonic scale. Using techniques like cross-fingering and half-holing, the chromatic scale can be created. With extra pressure on the bag, the reed can be played in a second octave, thus giving range of an octave and a half from tonic to top note. It is also possible to close the tone hole with the little finger of the right hand, thus creating a semitone below the tonic.
Tunes using the gaita are usually songs, with the voice either accompanying the instrumentation or taking turns with it.
The most common type is the muiñeira, a sprightly 6/8 rhythm. Other 6/8 Galician tunes use different steps; they include the carballesa, ribeirana, redonda, chouteira and contrapaso.
Alborada, usually-instrumental tune, most often in 2/4, though sometimes 3/4, and is characterized by a series of descending turning phrases. It is used to begin a day's celebrations, and is played at sunrise.
The foliada is a joyful 3/4 jota-type song, often played at romarías (community gatherings at a local shrine).