Though traditionally played with one hand only, modern Irish bodhran players typically utilize a beater – also referred to as a tipper or stick – which produces its own distinctive sound quality. Bodhran beaters come in various sizes and shapes and produce different tones when utilized during playing sessions.

Utilizing high-quality beaters will allow you to elicit even more sounds from your bodhran than what’s already built into its structure. This section covers hard and soft tippers, hot rod dowel beaters, and weighted tippers.

Hard & Soft

Finding the ideal bodhran beater is crucial to your success. There are various styles available, each providing their own distinct sound quality and feel.

Material used to craft bodhran beaters has minimal bearing on its tones but plays an essential role in how comfortable and secure it feels when playing the drum. Popular options for making beaters include ebony, snakewood, maple and ash.

Weighted bodhran beaters feature small metal weights in the tip that help it swing freely in your hand and relieve wrist pressure. While some players may find this type of beater cumbersome, overusing this beater could potentially result in injury to themselves or to others.

Soft tippers differ from regular drummer brushes in that their impact is dispersed over a series of dowels, producing a fuller sound with an audible click. While lightweight than their hard stick predecessors, soft tippers still produce strong and powerful tones with audible click. Some even come equipped with tightening/loosening mechanisms for dowels for tuning out different tones.

Hot Rod Dowel

Hot Rods, made famous by Promark drumstick brand, are a collection of 7-19 tightly fitted thin dowels of wood measuring 16” long that provide drummers with an alternative solution for volume issues and providing a different sound. While these Hot Rods may be fragile and break easily if played forcefully, you can extend their lifespan by taping over any exposed dowels with gaffa or duct tape and sealing any frays on their ends with tape.

Weighted

Heavy beaters are typically constructed using brass or steel weights glued into their tips, enabling it to swing smoothly in your hand and reducing wrist pressure, making this an extremely popular option among beginners.

Wood composition of bodhran sticks does not have much of an effect on their sound; however, its shape and feel do have an influence. Experimenting with different wooden types such as ebony, snakewood, maple, or grenadillo sticks may help you find one you prefer for beater purposes.

A bodhran brush beater creates a soft click when striking the drum skin, perfect for creating delicate sounds and jigs. Light on your wrists and easy to use, this beater should be considered essential for any serious bodhran player. A new design of this beater now includes a rubber tip to further lighten its weight while protecting from possible damage caused by hard beaters.

Split

The Bodhran is struck either with hands or using a lathe-turned piece of wood called a beater, tipper, stick, or cipin to alter its sound and feel. There is a wide selection of available tippers each producing their own distinct sound.

New bodhran beaters feature thin dowels glued together that enable greater variation in their sound output. Tighten or loosen these dowels for increased control over how the beaters sound; wider apart produces softer sounds with percussive clicks, while closer together produces harder sounds more reminiscent of hard beaters.

Metloef Irish Drums’ Rob Forkner beater is 11-1/2″ long, split at one end for added click, and can be customized into either a bell or teardrop shape depending on player preference. Additional weight can also be added at both ends if requested at time of ordering. Crafted from lightweight bar ash (also birch or sycamore) material which offers ergonomic comfort while increasing attack speed, the Rob Forkner beater makes for an impressive beater choice!

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