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Home Blog Contacts	12/10/07 How I learned to play the Bodhran I used to be forever picking up and playing other peoples bodhran in the smoke filled folk clubs and bars which were my frequent habitation in the late 1980's. Its only when I was playing bass guitar and whistle in a band in Bath that I finally bought my own. In the Hat & Feather pub where we played alot I would use the gas rings in the kitchen to tighten the skin after it had got cold, damp and loose in the back of the van. I never did get it right until some guy came out of the crowd at a gig and took it off me. He said “hold the stick like a pencil as if you’re going to draw on the skin. Stroke it up and down. Concentrate only on making a strong downbeat. All the rest will follow.” Well he was right the down beat kept the rhythm in time and after banging solid for a day or so the upbeat started so I got the distinctive double beat of the drums up and down stroke of the head going up and down on the skin. My hand made different shapes on the inside skin bracing the spar against the back of my hand. If I moved my hand to the centre it made a softer higher sound removing it makes a deeper sound or moving the pressure to the inner circumference allows for different tones and notes.. The Bodhran begins to speak like the spirit drum from which it descended. Finally the elusive third ghostly beat kicked in at first fleeting and difficult to sustain but then becoming a controllable feature of my playing. Moving the stick down the face of the drum slightly brings in the high clicks as the stick beats against the hide covered wooden rim. I learned to use this intermittently weaving it in with the rhythm to give accent to the beat in the same way that my hand behind the skin would flex and tighten to change the “voice” of the drum from high to low tones, soft or sharp, deep and resonant or high staccato rapping. So if anyone cares to know what I think about bodhran playing or needs advice on how to get started with the bodhran my advice is just spend time getting the downbeat in time and let the rest develop from within, naturally with your soul. As night follows day it will happen. Later on another most important thing a Bodhran player has to learn is when not to play – but that’s another story!
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12/10/07 How I learned to play the Bodhran

I used to be forever picking up and playing other peoples bodhran in the smoke filled folk clubs and bars which were my frequent habitation in the late 1980's. Its only when I was playing bass guitar and whistle in a band in Bath that I finally bought my own. In the Hat & Feather pub where we played alot I would use the gas rings in the kitchen to tighten the skin after it had got cold, damp and loose in the back of the van. I never did get it right until some guy came out of the crowd at a gig and took it off me. He said “hold the stick like a pencil as if you’re going to draw on the skin. Stroke it up and down. Concentrate only on making a strong downbeat. All the rest will follow.”

Well he was right the down beat kept the rhythm in time and after banging solid for a day or so the upbeat started so I got the distinctive double beat of the drums up and down stroke of the head going up and down on the skin. My hand made different shapes on the inside skin bracing the spar against the back of my hand. If I moved my hand to the centre it made a softer higher sound removing it makes a deeper sound or moving the pressure to the inner circumference allows for different tones and notes.. The Bodhran begins to speak like the spirit drum from which it descended.

Finally the elusive third ghostly beat kicked in at first fleeting and difficult to sustain but then becoming a controllable feature of my playing. Moving the stick down the face of the drum slightly brings in the high clicks as the stick beats against the hide covered wooden rim. I learned to use this intermittently weaving it in with the rhythm to give accent to the beat in the same way that my hand behind the skin would flex and tighten to change the “voice” of the drum from high to low tones, soft or sharp, deep and resonant or high staccato rapping.

So if anyone cares to know what I think about bodhran playing or needs advice on how to get started with the bodhran my advice is just spend time getting the downbeat in time and let the rest develop from within, naturally with your soul. As night follows day it will happen. Later on another most important thing a Bodhran player has to learn is when not to play – but that’s another story!