Piping is the Naval method of passing orders and every seaman should know how to use a "boatswain's call". The use of the bosun's call goes as far back as the Crusades (1248).
In former days it was worn in English ships as a badge of rank, because it was always used for passing orders. For years it was even worn as a badge of office os the Lord High Admiral of England and his successors up to 1562. Thereafter it was used in the English fleet for passing all orders and since 1671 it became generally known as the "boatswain's call".
Nowadays the boatswain's call and chain are the badge of office of the Chief Boatswain's Mate, the Quartermaster and Boatswain's Mates. The expression "To Pipe" means, to sound on the boatswain's call and the spoken order to qualify it. Some "Pipes" are even orders and do not require any verbal qualification.
Playing the Boatswain's Call
The bosun's call can be tuned by scraping away and enlarging the wind edge of the hole in the buoy and it will sound if the mouth of the gun is held directly into a moderate wind.
There are two main notes; the low and the high, and three tones; the plain, the warble and the trill.
Low Note: The low note is produced by blowing steadily into the mouth of the gun with the hole of the buoy unobstructed by the fingers.
High Note: The high note is produced by throttling the exit of air from the hole of the buoy. This is done by closing the fingers around the buoy, taking care not to touch the edge of the hole or the end of the gun.
Warble: The warble is produced by repeatedly moving your hand quickly from the high to the low position, which results in a warble similar to that of a canary.
Trill: The trill is produced by vibrating the tongue while blowing, as in rolling the letter R.
The Pipes
The following instructions show the various pipes used in the Canadian Navy. The numbers at the top of each figure represents seconds of time. The nature, continuity and tone of the notes are indicated by the various lines, and the degree of their slope indicates the speed of ascent or descent of the notes.
Within the Sea cadets, we use mainly 3 different pipes.
The Still
The still is used to call all hands to attention as a mark of respect, or to order silence on any occasion. The still is also used to announce the arrival onboard of a senior Officer. The pipe is an order in itself and does not require any verbal addition. The still is a high note held for 8 seconds. If done properly, it should end very abruptly.
Play the Still
Carry On
The carry on is used to negate the still. The pipe is an order in itself and does not require any verbal addition.Play the Carry On
General Call
The general call precedes any broadcast order; it draws attention to the order. The general call is used when passing out-of-routine orders or information of general interest. Play the General Call
You may like to have a look at the Boatswains call handout
A workbook is also available for those wishing to take their boatswain's call proficiency badge (external link).
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