Chanteyranger, I have mixed feelings about the issue of complexity. There's a huge difference between being a poor pioneer trying to build or invent the basic necessities, and simply being a poor person who has a house and a chicken coop and neighbors to turn to for help.

Pioneers don't have spare time, and when they do take time off for entertainment at harvest festivals and such, the easier and quicker the instrument maintence the better. Maybe that's why the vocal tradition is so rich in the Appalachians -- it's the easiest instrument to take with you, and you can practice while milking the cows and feeding the chickens.

Maybe their pipes did come with the Scots-Irish, but fell into disuse in favor of those instruments easier to keep up in good condition. I've seen ancient banjos that have survived in some form or another -- has anyone seen an example of a bagpipes surviving in America, or better yet BUILT in America, from the 1700's and early 1800's? You would think at least a couple of them would survive, even if they are in bad shape.