Thanks for the primer. Now to complicate issues, are Great Highland pipes played in sessions or are they strictly for military outdoor parade type use? Then how do hurdy gurdys fit in to the big picture? I know they are not pipes, but are they commonly used in sessions? I have about 25 CDs of Irish and Scottish Music (notice I didn't say the C word to get everyone wound up again like I did a couple weeks ago) and some times there are instruments that I for the life of me can't identify, and I was the kid who in the 4th grade could pick out bass clarinet and bassoon in orchestral works. Could these unknown instruments be the aforementioned types of pipes? Are all of these instruments equally difficult to master? People have told me that Ullean Pipes take years and years to master.