No matter your skill level or heritage background, playing the bodhran can be an enjoyable way to connect with Irish culture while expressing yourself creatively. Additionally, playing this drum will develop your rhythmic and timing skills and increase connection to Irish heritage.

A 14″ non-tunable bodhran is ideal for young musicians, while an 16″ model offers more opportunities for adult beginners. Both come complete with beater and gig bag for convenient transportation.

Lambeg

The Lambeg is a large drum known for its deep sound that plays an integral part in Orange Order parades. Beaten with cane drumsticks, its sound can reach 120dB. Traditionally painted with images associated with Orange Order events and drummers typically wear neck harnesses while performing.

She-goat skins of equal quality are used to assemble each drum. Once de-fleshed and washed, these skins are stretched over a frame and secured using nails.

These Lambeg skins are ideal for bodhran players who prioritize clear top end notes, yet provide substantial bass notes if required.

Vellum

Vellum, or animal skin parchment, was an economical and versatile material used for writing and binding in ancient times. It became particularly popular during the Middle Ages due to a shortage of papyrus for writing documents; particularly known for being used to cover illuminated Gregorian Chant books as well as important documents.

Skins from calves or other animals such as goats, sheep or deers must be meticulously cleaned and prepared prior to being used for writing or printing on it. Furthermore, this time consuming process must also include dehairing.

Modern vellum is produced using cellulose fibers that can either be translucent (see-through) or opaque. Its production involves beating and processing these fibers until all air has been extracted, creating dense moisture-rich sheets which you can see through.

Wood

The Bodhran is at the core of Irish traditional music. Constructed of wood with animal skin covering it, its single-headed frame drum design makes for easy playing using a double-ended stick called a beater or tipper to strike its head and drum out rhythms.

The drum is typically placed upright and balanced on the musician’s knee. They then rest one hand inside it to control pitch and timbre while striking it with their other hand to produce both low and high tones as well as rhythmic sounds that produce thudding rhythms.

Playing the bodhran can help you connect to your Irish heritage while honing musical skills. Furthermore, it has many other health and wellbeing benefits, including improved mental wellbeing and concentration/focus improvements. Furthermore, it provides an entertaining social activity which fosters creativity and can inspire new ideas.

Leather

The bodhran is at the core of Irish music, from pub sessions to your living room. This drum, designed like a hoop with stretched goat skin covering it, produces both low tones as well as higher-pitched tones for an authentic Irish musical experience.

The frame of a bodhran is usually constructed from either birch or ash wood, with crossed wooden bars behind its goatskin for stability. Although similar in appearance to large tambourines without their bell-like jingles, players use an innovative short and wide beater called a “cipin” instead.

In the 1960s, Sean O Riada made a lasting impact when he introduced it into Ceoltoiri Chualann ensemble. Peadar Mercier and Johnny “Ringo” McDonagh brought innovative ideas such as decreasing depth of frame depth or altering pitch for this instrument.

Metal

This Irish drum, or bodhran, is the heartbeat of traditional music sessions in pubs or living rooms alike. When its first beat hits you can’t help but start tapping your feet!

Irish frame drums consist of wooden frames covered with goatskin skin. Played using a short double-ended stick known as a “bodhran beater”, one side can be struck using this instrument while its open end allows one hand to be placed against its inner skin to control pitch and tone.

NMI’s folklife collection contains numerous bodhrans, but this one with an attached striker stands out. Dating back to around 1820 and likely used in ritual dancing during Brideog festival on St Brigid’s Day (1 February), 1 February may also have had significance for it.

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