Availability & build time
Chanters ordered via this page are built to order and normally dispatched within 30 days of ordering, unless marked “sold out”. If the chanter is marked “sold out”, advance orders can be placed via this link, with a 50% deposit payable on ordering and 50% prior to dispatch.

If you have any questions before ordering, you can contact Donald at lindstruments@gmail.com.

Key features

• Over two-octave range – A Scottish smallpipes chanter in A with range extended down to low D and up to high D.

• Entirely keyless design using the standard Scottish smallpipes fingering from low G to high A.

• Developed and played by Donald WG Lindsay, originator of the Lindsay System for Scottish smallpipes.

• Integrated tuning system (visible in the photos) for precise, adjustable intonation.

About the chanter
Developed by Donald WG Lindsay in Scotland between 2006 and 2018, the Lindsay System Chanter is the original Lindsay System smallpipes chanter. The design has been documented in detail in a series of articles in the National Piping Centre’s Piping Today magazine (2018–2020), and three early Lindsay System prototype sets are now in the museum collection of the National Piping Centre’s Museum of Piping in Glasgow.

Hear the chanter
Listen to the Lindsay System Chanter in context on these recordings:

What it can do
The Lindsay System Chanter is an A Scottish smallpipes chanter with its range extended both downwards to low D and upwards to high D, while preserving the traditional fingering system within the range low G to high A. The chanter uses no keywork of any kind and represents a very playable, useful development in Scottish piping. In practice, this means you gain extra notes without re-learning your existing fingering and tunes.

Where you may have heard it
The Lindsay System chanter can be heard on a wide range of acclaimed artist albums now, as well as on the soundtracks of The Outrun (2024) and My Old School (2022). In Scotland, the project itself has also been featured on Scottish TV on The Riverside Show, and on Live at Five, and on BBC Scotland's The Nine. 

Community and further information
For more information about the chanter and its capabilities, including additional video and audio, please select “Chanter Information” from the menu.

A Facebook group, Lindsay System Chanter, supports both players and makers and hosts live online workshops covering technique and repertoire; to take part, send a join request to the group.