Bodhran For Sale
The Bodhran is the center of any traditional Irish music session. Played by people of all ages and one of the easiest instruments to pick up.
Finding high-quality new bodhrans can be tricky. To improve your chances, avoid the many inexpensive painted drums on sale.
The Session
The Session is an established community of bodhran players. A great place for advice, tips, and friendly banter among peers! Additionally, The Session also hosts a “Used Instrument Exchange”, where you can find used bodhrans for sale.
The Bodhran is an Irish frame drum played either with one’s bare hand or various tippers. The open side of the drum allows one to strike its head to adjust pitch and timbre, making this versatile instrument suitable for many genres of music.
Modern Bodhran is a sample library that brings the traditional Celtic frame drum back into modern music production. Comprised of four drums, this library provides various performance presets to fit any genre or style of music and can add an authentic and stirring rhythmic heartbeat to acoustic, folk, or electronic compositions – an essential tool for anyone hoping to incorporate the bodhran into their repertoire.
Chiff & Fipple
Chiff and Fipple is an online discussion forum dedicated to Irish music, including the bodhran. While originally established as a tin whistle site, there is now much discussion of all instruments associated with Irish music including flutes and pipes – as well as regular listings of high-end bodhrans for sale from makers like Paraic McNeela, Metloef Irish Drums, Christian Hedwitschak. The community is active, often offering high-end instruments from makers like Paraic McNeela Metloef Irish Drums or Christian Hedwitschak among many others bodhrans for sale regularly!
There are plenty of inexpensive painted bodhrans for sale on eBay, Amazon and other large online retailers that may look nice but often don’t play well, as their skin tensioning often is incorrect.
If you want a reliable bodhran, choose from one of the established Irish drum makers. Each has websites where you can order custom instruments or sample instruments before purchasing. In addition, many offer affordable workhorses ideal for beginners.
Bodojo
Bodhrans can be quite costly unless you find one on eBay; however, excellent instruments do come up for sale from time to time if you keep your eyes peeled. When possible, get an audio or video clip showing how the drum actually plays before making your purchase decision, and ensure it has adjustable tuning capability.
Well done! It sounds like you are making great strides in learning the bodhran and that it has added so much to your Scottish music experience! Hannigan’s books and DVD offer excellent learning material; focus on rhythm and hand technique as you experiment with different playing styles; don’t be intimidated to experiment! When played expertly, the bodhran can be an extremely powerful instrument and group playing sessions can always add fun into their beat! Enjoy your journey!
eBay
On eBay and in tourist shops in Ireland, one can often find non-tunable bodhrans with designs painted onto their head that do not provide for proper tensioning or offer the crisp sound that would come from high-quality drums.
When searching Amazon for bodhrans, Meinl and Remo make excellent bodhrans at reasonable prices; Walton makes good ones too.
Purchase your bodhran from a store that understands Celtic music and bodhrans. A good place to do so would be McNeela Music, House of Musical Traditions or bodhran-info bodhran shop – avoid solely selling electric guitars or saxophones as their clerks may lack adequate knowledge regarding quality, options and care of these instruments. A bodhran is an investment worth making; purchase the best possible model within your budget; it will more than pay dividends!
