How to Play Bodhran
Over the last seventy years, the Irish bodhran has evolved at an astounding rate over its existence. Thanks to legendary players such as Chieftains’ Peadar Mercier, Christy Moore of Planxty and Stockton Wing and De Dannan’s Johnny “Ringo” McDonagh who have pioneered new playing techniques.
Successful Bodhran playing relies on listening closely and embellishing its natural rhythms. Take notes from professional bodhran players and strive to emulate their styles.
The Basics
The Bodhran is a simple frame drum, yet experienced players are capable of producing intricate rhythms and sounds with it. For beginners looking to take up this iconic Irish musical instrument, a few basic steps will get them started on their journey to becoming masters of it.
Put the wooden rim of the bodhran tight against your left leg (if you are right-handed). Holding the beater or cipin in your left hand higher up than a writing stick pen grip and strike downward against goatskin head – striking only skin not rim. In addition, another hand may also be used to press underside of skin which will drastically change sound from urgent taps to melodious ringing beats.
Hermitage Green drummer Dermot Sheedy will take you through the basics of bodhran playing in this free online course from Hermitage Green, providing a platform on which to build your own style. Each lecture introduces one new idea, and these lessons have been carefully tailored for complete novices.
Practice
As with any musical instrument, practice makes perfect. Playing the right bodhran will enable you to produce an excellent sound from it and McNeela bodhrans come complete with free gig bags to protect it against accidental bumps and bruises, temperature or humidity fluctuations and accidental drops.
The bodhran is unique among drums used in other musical traditions in that it does not drive the rhythm but instead supports melodic players by giving lift to melodic players, necessitating an unique type of playing technique.
To play the bodhran, place it in your left hand with its rim snug against your palm, and use your right hand to grip a beater or tipper (if right handed). Strike downwards on the goat skin head of the drum while striking evenly throughout its entirety; practice rolls to enhance your tempo skills, while triplets are good ways to perfect timing in jigs.
Tuning
Bodhrans are tuned to match the pitch of music being played, making it essential that when practicing with other musicians it helps develop your playing style accordingly. This will enable you to develop the correct playing style.
Bodhran skins can be highly reactive to fluctuations in humidity levels, sounding tight when played in dry conditions and loose and tinny when humid conditions arrive. This presents particular difficulties for those living in areas with changing weather patterns that experience seasonal weather changes.
To rectify this, a player can lightly rub the back of their bodhran with water (be careful not to overdo this!), or place it near a low heat source such as radiator, hair-dryer or stove for short amounts of time – initially this will cause skin loosening but once cool will tighten back up again and increase pitch. Long strips of cardboard may also be jammed into the instrument as tension boosters.
Accessories
The Bodhran has come a long way since it was just an instrument played by drunks in pubs. Today there are workshops, online videos and teaching material making learning the bodhran easy for anyone to start playing it. Bodhrans offer wide tonal ranges as well as being capable of producing rhythms independent of tunes.
Bodhrans come in all sorts of sizes. While larger drums produce deeper and somber soundscapes, smaller models offer easier maneuverability and portability. Players can utilize either a stick or the included cipin beater (small beater designed to reduce sound levels).
Sean O Riada can be credited with popularising the bodhran during its rise to popularity during the 1960s when he added it to Ceoltoiri Chualann ensemble. Later, other artists such as Peadar Mercier (and his son Mel), Tommy Hayes, Johny Ringo McDonagh and John Joe Kelly took it further – pushing both its design and playing styles into new realms of excitement.
