The Bodhran is a traditional Irish folk drum played using a tipper or beater and goatskin drum head.

An accomplished bodhran player can accompany any tune, while an amateurish one will simply bang away without knowing or appreciating its tune – showing complete disregard for music!

How to Play

The Bodhran is an essential element of Irish traditional music. Played using a stick known as a tipper or beater that strikes its goatskin head with precision, the Bodhran is relatively straightforward to learn but certain stick manoeuvres and hand movements may require practice to master.

Ruairi Glasheen is an award-winning international percussionist and teacher. His career is defined by a passion for Irish traditional music and culture – particularly that associated with the bodhran.

A master bodhran player can make the bodhran an unforgettable rhythm instrument. Their responsibility should not simply be keeping time; having someone walk into a session with an inferior instrument and begin wail away is doing neither the music nor themselves any favours – this is why listening to great players is essential.

Techniques

The Bodhran is a frame drum which has become part of Irish culture and heritage. Played using either hands or double ended sticks (known as tippers, beaters, sticks or cipins) struck with either fingertips, the Bodhran provides the backbeat to traditional Irish music and serves as its heartbeat. Yet its seemingly simple nature belies its amazing versatility; in experienced hands it can produce some amazing rhythms and sounds.

To play music effectively and listener, the easiest method of playing Irish bodhran is simply following the tunes and matching their rhythms with those of melody instruments. Unfortunately, many individuals arrive at a session with cheap bodhrans and start plundering away without knowing any tunes. Doing this does immense disservice to both yourself and the music itself.

Once musicians have mastered basic strokes and rolls, they can advance to Kerry style rolls which require more skill. In this masterclass the tutor also covers advanced percussion techniques such as rolling, backhand motion, syncopation and the Bo Diddley beat which make this an invaluable resource for any bodhran player or drummer looking to incorporate their instrument into their percussion set-up.

Rhythms

From pub sessions to intimate countryside gatherings, the rhythmic heartbeat of the bodhran ties musicians into generations of Irish culture. Mastering this hypnotic drum requires patience and dedication as well as an appreciation of Ireland’s rich history and timeless traditions.

This course builds upon Bodhran Basics by giving learners access to an array of rhythmic accompaniment for popular Irish tunes such as Reels, Jigs, Slipjigs, Slides and Polkas. Over 13 lessons, a tutor demonstrates rolls, backhand motion, syncopation techniques as well as other advanced skills on the instrument.

Based on its style of play, a bodhran may be struck with both hands or with a beater or tipper stick, while Kerry style drummers prefer using two double-ended sticks held like pencils to play this instrument. Bodhrans can also be played using synthetic drumheads; such drums are known as deep shell bodhrans due to having deeper frames that produce fuller sound output than standard frame drums.

Styles

Bodhran playing can take several forms; some employ hand strokes while others use a stick called a cipin or beater to strike the goatskin drum head. Hand strokes may be more familiar to people familiar with playing percussion instruments;

Bodhrans are one of the centerpieces of Irish traditional music. To play them with integrity, players must possess an in-depth knowledge of tunes as well as an intuitive grasp of their structures and forms; anyone entering a session and starting banging away without consideration for musical form does both the instrument and tradition a disservice.

This course builds upon the foundation established in Bodhran Basics with 13 tutorials covering an expansive selection of rhythmical accompaniments for Irish tunes such as Reels, Jigs, Slip Jigs, Slides and Hornpipes. Furthermore it covers a range of hand playing styles including rolls backhand motion and syncopation applications.

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