The Bodhran (say it like "BOW- RAWN") is the round and flat-shaped drum of Celtic music, which accounts for the heartbeat sound that is so prevalent in this musical tradition. It is played with a small souble-ended stick called a "tipper". The skilled bodhran player can play an enormous amount of beats in a very small span of time, and can even learn a special technique of clicking the rim of the drum for a very unique effect. For the best players, the tipper is everything. The variety of shapes the tippers come in result in different sounds. The key to playing the bodhran is all in the action of the wrist, and this is the essential component that a good bodhran player must have.
The skin for the bodhran ranges anywhere from goatskin (the most common) or calf and deerhides to the more exotic llama, camel, grayhound, or donkey (!), although the latter few are fairly rare. Goatskin is preferred simply because it produces a more traditionally authentic sound.
The frame of the bodhran is wood and the skin is "nailed" around it. Behind the bodhran are two crossing pieces of wood that serve as a support for the shape of the drum. These crossing pieces can be held during play, but are best left alone. The player can touch the skin of the drum from behind to give it the special "heartbeat" sound.
The bodhran is, according to many Irish people, the most difficult of the traditional Celtic instruments to play. |
