When discussing bagpipes as a musical instrument within the context of the territory of present-day Slovenia, we are essentially exploring two narratives. 

The first revolves around instruments of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, evident in numerous frescoes adorning churches and sporadically referenced in historical writings. At that time, Slovenia was intricately woven into the cultural fabric of Central Europe, influencing the musical instruments of the region. Those can be identified as likely oboe-type bagpipes of the western type, featuring double-reeds and conical bores. They fell completely out of use pretty early, and little to no trace can be found in contemporary, surviving, or documented traditional music.

The second narrative concerns the very narrow area along today’s border in the southwest and southeast. It is mostly a result of the continuous influences and interactions between this area and its neighboring lands, as well as migrations from the time of Ottoman invasions. These instruments are mainly of primitive type, non-tempered by nature, with two bores in the chanter, two single reeds, and a bag made from the complete, dried skin of an animal, mostly sheep or goat. They fell out of use much later—somewhere around the First World War or, in some cases, right after the Second. Four such distinct instrument types are known (to some degree) or speculated to have been present in the areas. Two of them appear to be unique, as no instruments like them are known to be preserved in the neighboring areas of the Balkans or elsewhere, while the other two are shared with the neighboring region.

These four are (as seen from left to right on the picture above): diple of Preloka, “diple of Vinica”, mih with roženice (šurle) and istrian mih.