How to Play the Bodhran With a Tipper
Although bodhran can be played by hand, modern Irish bodhran techniques often involve using a wooden tipper or beater (known as cipin) which requires correct hand placement for playing the instrument. Learning this tool properly can be tricky.
An important step when choosing a tipper is matching it to one’s hand movements and wrist curved style – this will ease any pressure on the wrists, making bodhran easier to play.
Hard Tippers
Hard Tipppers are wooden drum sticks used to strike the skin of a bodhran. Commonly made from bar ash wood, hard tippers provide lightweight beaters with great sound output that are flexible enough for use by bodhran players. Hard tippers make up an important component in every player’s arsenal of instruments and have become widely adopted among them.
Wood types can have an enormous effect on the sound of a bodhran tipper. Additionally, its contact point with your skin is also crucial; split tippers feature one end slotted to soften any clicking noises – these are used by some of the finest bodhran players like Ronan O Snodaigh.
It is essential that when unloading, the bodhran tipper body is lowered and raised properly, and that its driver does not move it forwards or jerk it while in its elevated state – doing so could cause it to tip over!
Soft Tippers
Soft tippers provide more mellow beats and have the added benefit of not wearing down skin as quickly.
Soft tipper quality depends on various factors: a) age of animal at time of slaughter – younger animals tend to have thinner, more flexible skin while older ones often have thicker and harder ones. b) hand perspiration and pH values can affect break-in behavior of skin. Finally, different animal species’ skins vary greatly in abrasion resistance, tear resistance and durability.
Some soft tippers feature the inclusion of an inner core to add an audible click when the tipper strikes the skin, providing extra clarity when playing Kerry or pencil style bodhrans. Furthermore, this technology increases attack while simultaneously decreasing click. Meinl frame drum tippers made of bar ash are available in five sizes for playability.
Hot Rod Tippers
As often reported, some tippers destroy the skin of a bodhran drum through excessive friction caused by playing at too steep an angle, creating excessive friction which rubs the flanks of their stick into its surface like sandpaper. A shallow playing angle reduces this effect and protects bodhran skins from damage.
Hot rod tippers – comprised of thin dowels secured together with tape – have become an increasingly popular choice among bodhran players in recent years. Their soft clicks provide more attack per impact point for an overall full and resonant tone, creating full, rich sounds.
Many bodhran tipper models feature two rear rings on a HedRod which allow users to customize its weight by changing its distance apart, enabling you to achieve a feel similar to that of solid wood tippers while still enjoying its lightness and dynamics.
Accessories
Irish bodhran players typically employ a beater known as a tipper or stick to create the fast, clean, and dynamic sounds characteristic of this instrument. On the market today are various kinds of tippers from thin and light to thick and heavy models for this style of playing bodhran music.
McNeela Music provides an assortment of bodhran tippers for every playing style and budget. For example, Ronan O Snodaigh designed our lightweight beater specifically to help achieve that signature Kila sound.
MEINL Frame Drum Tipper, made of bar ash for maximum durability and comfort. This popular beater features thick knobs on both ends with an elevated middle section for support – available in five sizes! Additionally, we also provide split bodhran tippers which have one end slotted so individual flanks click when striking against the skin of a drum skin.
