Bodhran drums

[Susanne]

Greetings to all!
I posted this on the Bards message board & then I found this wonderful place so.....
I am wondering if anyone plays or has any experience with bodhran drums.
I am not a musician (piano & violin a loooong time ago....) but have always been drawn to drumming, especially bodhran.
I don't know of anyone in my area who plays so I would be on my own with it & possibly books or instructional DVDs. First I need to know enough about them to buy a good one for me. I figured what better place to ask than a group of Bards!
Any advice out there for a beginner?
Blessings
Susanne

[Corwen]

I've played for 15 years so I know a little about it.

With regards to learning there is no substitute for a flesh and blood teacher especially to show you how to hold the tipper and the basic movement of it, which is awkward to work out from a video. That said Stefan Hannigan has done some videos which I think are good, though his more advanced stuff is presented in a rather analytical way which is IMO not the way to play- its better to concentrate on instinct and a feel for the music.

Speaking of which you should listen to as much Irish music as you can for style and so you have something to play along with. I recommend the band Dervish who play mostly dance tunes at a session speed.

With regarding drums- a cheap one is a false economy, especially anything made in Pakistan or China. Better to buy a small non-tuneable drum from a good maker than a big tuneable drum from abroad made of a cheap Pakistani goat skin. A 16" drum is more than big enough, 18" is too big. Bigger drums don't sound lower, the pitch is determined more by bthe thickness and tension of the skin and the depth of the frame. Tuneable drums don't generally sound as good as non-tuneable ones because of the heavier frame, but they are useful if the climate changes a lot where you live. Its easy enough to tune a drum with water and heat in most cases. My favourite drums at the mo are coming from Belgarth, but there are lots of good makers. If you try one in a shop it will almost certainly be dry and thus high pitched. Ask them if you can damp it down (rub a handful of water into the inside of the skin) - this will bring the pitch down to a more normal tightness. It should be tight enough to sound but loose enough that you can push the skin with the heel of the left hand and change the pitch.

[Lily]

I saw this cool video of a guy on youtube that teaches you the movements with the tipper, on a pizza delivery box, of all things.


so no need to invest in a bodhram of mediocre quality before finding out if you like it.

[Susanne]

Lily
Now that is something I'll have to check out. Having a teenage daughter I could well have a whole group of pizza box drummers in no time!

[Alan C]

I have been playing!! The Bodhran for about two years and am in no way the expert but I am however Scottish and in that regard I am expert in ensuring that I get the best for my money.

As Corwen said a budget drum which will cost in the region of $ 80-100 and in almost all cases this is a total waste of money not because they are particularly bad but you will find very quickly that although you can practice the drum will never perform or sound like the ones that you see played on the internet. The next level up is to purchase a budget tuneable drum and again as Corwen explains they in the main come from India or Pakistan and the skins have not been given the best finish which will matter little in your first few months but will become the most annoying thing as your skill improves.

The fact is it is all about the skin and unfortunately this costs a great deal.

I have spent some time investigating the better manufactures around the world and I have found that in the main even including postage the European ones are better value than the US manufactures.

I have also taken my lead from the All Ireland Bodhran Championships http://www.worldbodhranchampionships.com/ which gathers the best players in the world. You do tend to find that the best only use two main manufactures Seamus O’Kane http://www.tradcentre.com/seamus/ and Christian Hedwitschak http://www.bodhranmaker.de/new/index.php. I am as I said going on the results of the Championships. You find in both cases that they have started to lose the internal cross bar which I would recommend and in almost all cases the rim of the skin is taped up.

In short do your homework, a good drum from the two above will cost around $300 you could save a little by getting one from Seamus’s son who is now working out of London http://www.tradcentre.com/diarmaid/gallery.html I have one of his and its top drawer.

Also check out this web site http://www.bodojo.com/ it will point you in the direction of all of the better manufactures in the world, and again don’t take my word for it, research.

[Serenity]

Corwen's advice about playing with instinct and feel is spot on. A lot of teaching material around takes a very technical approach to learning rhythm, which can be very confusing. Listening to a lot of Irish music is essential. Dancing helps too, to feel how the music moves and lifts. That said though, it is important to understand the difference between reel timing and jig timing, the two basic rhythms of Irish trad music. Once you have this under your belt you can tackle anything.

[Susanne]

Thanks very much to everyone for the help in choosing a drum.
I checked out many places & ended up buying one from Michael Vignoles in Galway, Ireland.
As I did my research I kept coming back to positive comments on his work & links to his site so I figure the gods were telling me something & this was the place to go.
My drum arrived today & it is beautiful in both looks & sound. I spent a while getting the feel of it & checking out the instructional DVD that came with it.
Thus begins the (long yet much fun) journey of me learning to play!
Thanks again & I'm sure I'll be back with questions......
Blessings
Sue

[Serenity]

Yay! That's fabulous. Now you can start making sense of DDUDU and DUUDUU..

[Oak Woods]

I've been drumming since I was about 14 (classically trained and can read the music) but I've only played the bodhran for about 25 years. Back in the 80s I attended two years of training at a college in London, courses run by Stefan Hannigan and still have his tapes (yep, that old) and his turors and, through him, I also learned the tin whistle.

I was lucky, I had a drum made for me by Marc Moggy which it still a terrific instrument. I have a very large hands so small 'of the shelf' drums don't usually work too well but I also have a couple of the others for when I'm playing in a band, they all have different tones and I can sort of tune them.

No 1 tip is never use anything but water to slacken the skin and if you ever want to seriously play it, don't get a drum with a painted skin, well, to me they just don't have the tone.

Good luck with your playing, perhaps one day we should have am international session.

[Susanne]

No 1 tip is never use anything but water to slacken the skin and if you ever want to seriously play it, don't get a drum with a painted skin, well, to me they just don't have the tone.

Good luck with your playing, perhaps one day we should have am international session.

Thanks Tony
The drum that I have isn't painted but is tuneable, which I would appreciate any insights on as well. I live in an area where it gets very cold in the winter so the dry heat is on now until about April then it can get pretty humid for a while in the summer.

I have no options for a real live teacher where I live so I'm still looking for any good instructional DVDs that are out there. Right now I'm just working on holding it correctly & the basic rhythms....
Thanks for the good wishes & I think an international session is a fantastic idea. Guess I'd better get practicing!

Yay! That's fabulous. Now you can start making sense of DDUDU and DUUDUU..

OK Serenity.....what is DDUDU & DUUDUU?!

Blessings to all!
Sue

[Serenity]

Hehe.

D=down stroke
U=up stroke

It's a way of notating bodhran rhythms. A simple jig rhythm would be DUD UDU. Other jig rhythms could be DDU DDU. And you can miss out strokes so D-D UDU. The letters can also signify where you put the emphasis - Dud Udu for example.

I started with words - COLL-ING-WOOD ESS-EN-DON for a jig for example.
And WA-TER-MEL-ON WA-TER-MEL-ON for reel rhythms.

Then I tossed it all out the window and just went with the feel of it. I've been a dancer all my life and I just started dancing with the drum. It felt much better. When I play for dancers I just 'dance' in my chair. I have been thinking I should find a way of mounting a hook on the drum so I can stand up and play. My O'Kane doesn't have a crossbar though so I haven't quite worked out how to do this.

I play for Irish dancers in a trad Irish band. Sometimes it's hard to resist the urge to rush off the stage to join the dancers but my knees are pretty shot, which is one of the reasons I took up drumming a few years ago.

The web-based Bodhran masterclass by a woman called Michelle is a good start for beginners. She has good clear explanations and spends plenty of time introducing the rhythms. The early Planxty albums provide a great introduction to bodhran playing in trad Irish context. There's stacks of stuff on Youtube.

Happy drumming!

[Susanne]

Hey Serenity
Thanks for the translation, that does make sense! I've got two instructional DVDs now, one which emphasizes the Ds & Us and the other touches on that but also as you say...tossing it out the window & going with the feel of it.
I've found that most helpful (&fun) since sometimes I get so caught up in trying to be just so with the rhythm that I eventually lose it. Just closing my eyes & going with the music is the best.
You were right about finding the right tipper. I think the one I have may be too long for me, or maybe I just still need to get used to it. I've been so busy lately but I make sure that I can pick up my drum for at least a little while each day.
Blessings
Sue

[cat]

Hi,

I just started playing the bodhran too, so far the best instuctional stuff i've found has been online try this site http://bodhranexpert.com/?page_id=83
Very good at teaching imho starts slow and builds up.

I have also tried the Steafan Hannigan dvd but found that although the music sections are very good he progreeses from a slow demo to full speed playing very quickly so i have to keep stopping the dvd to pratice enough to keep up. Otherwise a very good dvd with plenty of milage in it.

I'm very new to the folk music scene so if any one has any reccomendations of music/bands to play along to i'd be most grateful for the information.

Cath

[Susanne]

Hi Cath
Thanks for the suggestions. Unfortunately at this time I have a dial up internet connection so I can't access any online videos right now. I have looked into getting wireless in the past but the way my house is situated & the fact that live in a very rural area it's not been an option so far. I guess it's time to check again!
I've seen the Steafan Hannigan DVD & agree with your assessment. He does have a great way with the drum. It makes me want to practice, practice, practice until I can play like that!
Sue

[Corwen]

re tipper size, the (aptly named) rule of thumb is to spread your hand out as wide as you can, fingers as far apart as you can, palm up. The tipper should be the same length or just a little longer than the distance between the tip of your thumb and the tip of your little finger.

[cat]

Thanks Corwen,

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