Learn to play the Bodhran

The bodhran is the heartbeat of Irish music. This ancient frame-drum is traditionally made with a wooden body and a goat-skin head, and is played with a double-headed stick called a cip'n, tipper, or beater. The modern Irish word bodhran is properly pronounced bow-rawn, like Cow brawn, with a slight emphasis on the first syllable.

The bodhran is an old drum but a young musical instrument. Although it has existed in Ireland for centuries, it was introduced into traditional music performance only in the 1960s, and became common only in the 1970s.

I've heard differing opinions on the ultimate origin of the bodhan. Some writers believe that the drum originated in Africa and came to Ireland by way of Spain. Other people, including Henry Geraghty, believe that it originated in Central Asia, and was carried through Europe to Ireland by the Celtic migrations.

What is not in dispute is that the drum languished for centuries outside the realm of musical performance. It was used in warfare and in various local celebrations, mostly as a noisemaker or primitive rhythm instrument. Until modern times, it was used by mummers and wren-boys in various local festivals. It apparently served double-duty as a husk sifter and grain tray.

Until the 1960s, it was uncommon outside south-western Ireland; it was introduced to modern traditional music to Sean O Riada, who used it in his arrangements for Ceolt—ir' Chualann and the Chieftains.

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Construction

The crossbars were originally used to prevent the warping of the rim, which was made of wood that was bent green. Modern methods eliminate the structural purpose of the crossbars, and many drum-makers now omit them. If you have a well-made drum, you should be able to remove the crossbars without any problem.

According to Ron Murphy, bodhrans were traditionally made with goatskin, sheepskin, and greyhound skin heads. He says that skins were prepared by burying them in lime for six to eight weeks, then soaking them in a river to wash away the hair. I have heard of modern drum-makers using skins from donkeys, reindeer, calf, elk, deer, and buffalo. Most recently, I've heard that Fred Halpin is making tuneable drums with heavy, tanned goatskin heads. Jesse Winch told me that this produces a drum with a very soft, mellow tone.

Perhaps the most significant functional development is the introduction of tuneable bodhrans. Between six and twelve tuning screws move a ring which presses against the skin, allowing the drummer to tighten or loosen the skin to change the pitch and adjust for varying humidity. Johnny McDonagh told me that he conceived the idea and gave it to David Gormlie. Gormlie kept the first tuneable drum he made, but gave the second to McDonagh, who still owns it.

I have seen three distinct types of tuneable drums.

External tuneables have the screws mounted outside the rim, with a metal ring circling the skin, much like a snare drum. This method prevents the drummer from playing the edge of the drum, but is usually much less expensive than other methods.

Internal tuneables have tuning screws mounted inside the rim, with a tuning ring under the head, just inside the rim. The screws move the ring, which presses against the head, thereby increasing or reducing the tension of the head. Mance Grady has an interesting variation on this design; he has split the ring into separate segments, one for each tuning screw, so that he can adjust the tension of the head independently at each screw.

The newest variation on the tuneable bodhran is a patented design invented by Fred Halpin. His drums have tuning screws through rim itself. His rims are thicker than normal; as far as I could tell, the tuning ring is set into the upper edge of the rim.

Experimentation

The most remarkable experimental design that I've seen comes from Barry Hall of Burnt Earth. Hall makes a variety of ceramic instruments, including a circular didjeridu with a drumskin stretch on it, like a bodhran. He has a picture and some recordings.

Does Bodhran rhyme with Moron?

The modern Irish word bodhran is properly pronounced bow-rawn, like Cow brawn, with a slight emphasis on the first syllable. It is also pronounced bow-RAWN; BOH-rahn (like know Ron) or boh-RAHN; or BORE-on (like more on); it all depends on who you ask and what language he's speaking. Some of these alternate pronunciations are dialectical variants; some of them are incorrect, but persist anyway. Pronouncing the d is just plain wrong.

What happened to the d?

In Old Irish, the dh had a sound like th in this. By the late Middle Ages, that sound had softened further in the Irish language to a vague aspiration, and in the modern language it merely modifies the preceding vowel.

Where'd this word come from anyway?

According to M'chael O Sœilleabhain, The Bodhran, p.3, the word bodhran derives from the Irish word bodhar, meaning deaf and dull-sounding, and therefore it appears that the name of the instrument was suggested by its sound (and not any characteristic of the drummer, thank you very much!). He notes that in Kerry, the drum is called a tambourine.

The earliest extant use of the word bodhran (v. Dictionary of the Irish Language) comes from an Early Modern Irish (ca. 17th century) translation of a medical manual entitled Rosa Anglica (Irish Texts Society, vol.25). There the word is found glossed as "tabur (i.e. tabor), timpan (i.e. drum)". We have no idea; however, whether it referred to a particular type of drum, or if it did, what sort of drum. The tabor was a particular type of drum in certain times and places. The Irish word timpan does not describe a particular drum; it can even refer to a type of stringed instrument.) Nor do we have any particularly Irish evidence for styles of performance. Frame drums with a bodhran-type shape appear in continental representations from the 15th century onward, but no one has produced an example showing the double-ended-stick style which defines modern bodhran technique.

What about cip'n?

The double-headed beater, unique to the bodhran, is called a cip'n in Irish. According to Joseph McKee and Kevin Rice, cip'n, pronounced ki-PEEN, is the Irish word for kindling. It's a word I'd never heard before I read McKee's article.

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