The Bodhran (bough-rawn) is an essential percussion accompaniment for Irish traditional music. Although seemingly straightforward to play, certain stick manoeuvres and hand movements require practice before becoming proficient at using this instrument.

The Bodhran is a frame drum played either with hands or with sticks (tippers/cipins). An elastic skin dampening hand allows players to achieve different sounds and rhythms by dampening its open side of the drum, producing sounds with different pitches or rhythms.

Basics

Before beginning playing the bodhran, you will require an exceptional instrument in order to learn properly. Without one, your learning experience may suffer greatly and eventually end in frustration and abandonment of this ancient instrument.

Listening to professional bodhran players will also give you an understanding of how the drum should be played and help your rhythms match those of the music.

The bodhran is an ancient Irish frame drum, revered in Irish culture and music. One of its greatest popularity worldwide, not just in Ireland. Pronounced ‘bow-rawn,’ its goatskin stretched over wooden frame makes for a highly musical instrument, often used as an accompaniment instrument in Irish traditional music performances.

Bodhran drums are played using a stick called a cipin, tipper or beater that strikes its goatskin head. Though relatively easy for beginners to play, some stick manoeuvres and hand movements may prove challenging for newcomers to master. Our tutor will assist in teaching you proper grip techniques for both holding the drum and its stick; then progress onto basic strokes, accentuation techniques, varying tone tones as well as accompanying reels or jigs as well as more complicated patterns/ ‘fills’!

Rhythms

A bodhran is an economical and accessible drum which, when played expertly, can produce beautiful rhythms. Additionally, its availability makes it a good introduction to Irish music for newcomers.

Playing the bodhran requires clear rhythmic patterns, excellent left hand partitions, deliberate and structured play, clean rolls, volume, knowledge of tunes (if applicable), as well as practice! To play well requires clear rhythmic patterns with good partitions from left hand partitions. Practice is of course required!

Traditional musical notation uses thick arrows to emphasize strokes on each beat, making it simple for beginners to pick up different rhythms like reels and jigs quickly and efficiently.

The bodhran found great prominence during the folk music revival of the 1960s. Sean O Riada’s mesmerizing playing with Ceoltoiri Chualann mesmerized audiences, demonstrating this versatile instrument’s capabilities as a rhythmic center in Irish music. Since then, an elaborate modern playing style has evolved which fully exploits this versatile drum’s musical capabilities.

Techniques

Bodhrans are circular frame drums played with a small stick known as a tipper, making them one of the most beloved Irish musical instruments not just in Ireland but worldwide. Bodhran players have evolved a complex playing style which fully explores this versatile instrument’s range.

Bodhrans can be played both by hand and with a stick called a cipin, tipper or beater to strike the goatskin head of the drum. There are numerous techniques for striking it depending on what music is being performed on it.

This series of lessons will equip you with all of the fundamental and advanced bodhran rhythm techniques for accompanying both reels and jigs, covering topics like sticking direction, skin hand positioning, accented strokes, tune structure and sticking direction. By the time this course ends, you will possess all of the skills required to play an entire traditional set!

Music

Bodhran players can access an expansive catalog of music. Practising to songs you love can help improve both your playing technique and musicality; just be sure to pay close attention to any melodies or rhythms present while practicing and adjust your playing style accordingly.

Traditional drummers used their hands alone to beat a drum; today a stick known as a “cipin” may be preferred. To ensure optimal results, its length should match that of the player’s hand from their outstretched thumb to baby finger.

Throughout the 1950s and 1960s, bodhran-making became a flourishing industry thanks to players like Robin Morton from The Boys of the Lough; Planxty’s Christy Moore; Peadar Mercier from The Chieftains and Seamus O’Kane from Dungiven who introduced an internal tone-ring with screws for tensioning/loosening that countered atmospheric changes that altered skin tension levels by tightening or loosening it as required for playing styles such as Celtic music/Irish fiddle music etc. Seamus O’Kane also pioneered an internal tone-ring driven to tension/loosen by screws thereby eliminating atmospheric conditions from altering skin tension alteration due to changes caused by atmospheric conditions changing skin tension, eliminating tension alteration caused by atmospheric conditions changing skin tension changes caused by atmospheric conditions altering skin tension of skins’ tension changes or change due to weather effects alteration causing changes.

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