The Bodhran (pronounced bow-ron) is the essential percussion accompaniment to traditional Irish music and played using an instrument known as a Tippper, Beater or Cipin stick.

Sean O Riada and Ceoltoiri Chualann brought it back into mainstream with their group Ceoltoiri Chualann and it has since become an essential component of traditional sessions. Innovative bodhran players and tippermakers have taken this instrument even further.

Origins

Over the last seventy years, Irish traditional music has seen an explosion in bodhran players and tippermakers’ creativity as the instrument has reached new heights of development. Much of this evolution can be credited to innovative bodhran players like Martin Murphy who have taken it further than ever before.

John Joe Kelly was an esteemed bodhran player, having joined Flook and performing alongside Mike Oldfield throughout Europe. Additionally, he recorded nine albums with De Danann from the early ’70s until late in the 1980s.

Ceoltoiri Chualann was an influential group that elevated not only bodhran music but all Irish folk music out of kitchens and pubs into concert halls. O Riada wrote and composed many traditional Irish tunes during his tenure with this organization.

Construction

Bodhrans come in all sorts of shapes and sizes, from the small souvenir ones that make great Irish gifts to larger, tunable drums used by professional musicians. Each Bodhran features a round wooden hoop frame covered in goatskin with crossbars providing strength. The frame may either be plywood-covered or solid wood.

Goatskin must first be saturated with water before being stretched over the rim. Tightness must remain moderate – too tight can result in higher pitched sounds from playing back through.

The bodhran can be played either by hand or with a stick known as a tipper or cipin, with either method creating different sounds from low bassy ones up to higher pitched ones. With either option, damping the skin on its open side dampens down its sound allowing different tones of sound from deep bassy sounds up to extremely high pitched ones to emerge from its soundscape.

Skins

The skin is at the core of every bodhran and determines its sound, feel and playability. Working with natural skins requires experience, sensitivity and expertise.

pH values and hand sweat volumes play a pivotal role in break-in behavior and skin development. Furthermore, different animal species exhibit various degrees of abrasion resistance and tear strength.

My specialty goat skin, treated according to my own in-house process, produces an exceptionally harmonic sound spectrum and exceptional surface feel, responding readily to skin hand manipulation while remaining stable under most climate conditions. This drum skin is known as DragonSkin and standard on my HighEndLine models of the Bodhran.

Techniques

The Bodhran is an Irish drum with an easy learning curve – ideal for novice musicians just starting out! It is popularly chosen as an entry-level percussion instrument.

A bodhran can be played by hand, but most commonly its beater, known as a “cipin”, is used. This long stick with both ends serves to beat against the back skin of the drum to dampen or change its sound and tune.

A bodhran can be decorated with Celtic spirals, GAA county colors or family coats of arms without diminishing its sound – professional players often opt to play decorated instruments to give an audible and distinctive sound in performances and to stand out among crowds.

Tuning

Tone can be changed on a bodhran by either decreasing or increasing pressure on its tape ring, as this helps dampen harsh overtones and focus bass frequencies.

After being delivered, a new bodhran may require some minor adjustment due to changes in weather during transport and shipping that affect its adhesives used to secure its skin. It is advised to treat them regularly with Drum Diddly, an especially developed conditioning cream designed for premium goatskin like Lambeg skins.

Bodhrans can be tuned by hand or with a tipper/cipin, a stick which is played against the open side of the instrument. A tipper typically made of wood can be treated with either linseed oil or olive oil for optimal tuning results.

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