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BINIOU, or Bignou, a species of cornemuse or bagpipe, still in use at the present day in Brittany.

The scale of the biniou is usually 1 949 and the single drone is tuned to the lower octave of the first hole The more primitive biniou, still occasionally found in the remote districts of Cornouailles and Morbihan, has a chaunter with but five holes,2 giving part of the scale of D, the drone being also tuned to D. The drone of the biniou is of boxwood, handsomely inlaid with tin, and has a single or beating reed hidden within the stock.

To p. 6hear an oboe actually played as a rustic instrument one must go to Brittany, where it accompanies the national bagpipe or ‘biniou.’

They call it a biniou in Brittany.

The biniou and its companions are decidedly en �vidence, while sometimes the monotony of the ronds is varied by the grand rond, a much more graceful and intricate affair, containing many elaborate and difficult steps; but the more ordinary dance is the favourite, probably because of the difficulties attending the other.