A bodhran can be played either with one’s bare hand or using a lathe-turned piece of wood called a tipper, bone beater or cipin. Although initially not widely appreciated as an instrument until its popularity increased with Irish folk music’s revival during the 1960s folk resurgence resurgence bringing virtuoso players to public notice, its true potential as an instrument finally made itself known to wider public audiences in more recent times.

Bodhran tippers are essential tools for all styles of bodhran playing. Nowadays, drum makers and players frequently wrap the rim of the drum with tape for added security and longevity.

Double Mallet

Sometimes music requires that a percussionist hold multiple mallets at once. This might be necessary due to different pitches being required, effects (such as buzzing) needed or simply managing switching instruments in a short amount of time.

When used properly, double mallets are effective tools for creating desired sounds. As seen in the video below, percussionist Christopher Deane’s Mourning Dove Sonnet for marimba was played using double mallets with thin dowel shafts that created a buzzing effect when they struck against its handle.

Students should learn to hold their mallet with a match grip with an inside finger on top of the first knuckle for this stroke technique, creating the fulcrum necessary. While lateral strokes tend to be easier with this grip, certain four mallet techniques such as double verticals and single independent strokes may require different techniques such as Burton grip.

Rattan

Rattan is a flexible yet durable material used in furniture production. Additionally, its flexibility makes it suitable for handicrafts and art pieces as well. Rattan can also be painted or stained to suit personal taste, being shaped into unique furniture pieces with ease or serving as the basis for weaving techniques such as basketry.

Utilizing different beaters with various materials will enable you to produce different sounds on the bodhran, such as soft rounded sounds or sharp rhythmic ones. A leather ended beater can produce soft tones while one with rubber ends can give sharp rhythmic sounds.

Rattan can often be confused with wicker, although these are two distinct entities. Rattan is an aquatic plant while wicker refers to weaving techniques. Furthermore, many mistake rattan for its African or South American cousin raffia; though they appear similar, these plants do not belong in the same family of plants.

Brush

Brush tippers are constructed of multiple strands of rattan that have been tightly wound together with smaller restraining bands to produce a flexible beater with more of a “brushed or snare sound.”

Bar ash wood provides an extremely hard and light bodhran beater, perfect for all playing styles and ideal bass content. This makes the beater adaptable and versatile.

These wooden brushes are also an excellent option for people with sensitive skin who want to reduce potential allergy issues with other tippers. Many bodhran beaters contain metal or plastic components which could potentially trigger an allergic reaction in those using them.

McNeela Instruments serves the Irish music community by offering Irish flutes, bodhrans, concertinas, whistles, uilleann pipes and clarsachs among other traditional instruments. Our musical instruments can be purchased online, by phone, in store and worldwide shipping is available – we ship worldwide too! For more information please visit our website where our contact details are listed as well.

Felt

Felt is an intriguing material that can be made out of any variety of fibres such as wool, acrylic, polypropylene and recycled PET bottles. To produce felt you must apply heat, moisture and pressure on the fibers so they matte together into a dense fabric with permanently interlocked fibers – an impressive process!

Felt was traditionally made by using animal fur to craft it into felt sheets, but today there are eco-friendly varieties made from recycled plastics or yarn fibers which make for ideal products to give children as they are non-toxic and safe to play with.

Felt is an easy fabric to work with and can be moulded into unique structures without causing fraying edges – perfect for kids’ crafts and decorations!

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