People often buy tuneable bodhrans without knowing the advantages of being able to adjust the tension of the skin. Obviously they learn eventually but, if you're not sure have a look at the video I made below, I have tried to cover everything in it. Basically the goatskin is suseptable to humidity and as such the tension can vary. If the humidity is too high the skin gets loose. If...
How long is a piece of string?! The truth is, it could be any length but if we break down the different processes and put a time on them we can come to some reasonable answer to that question. The cureing of the goatskin; It takes 6 to 7 days to lime the skin in a bucket and then it will need to be pickeled in brine for two...
The most popular sizes and designs are ribbed, bulbous, split, tipper, brush, fiddle bow and the one thing they have in common is they are all used to beat the bodhrán. Beaters can be from 5" long to 11" and this outside measurement is not definitive. Ronán Ó Snodaigh of Kíla uses a long bent willow-like stick that could be up 24" long and uses it very effectively indeed. They...
To cure a goatskin a solution of garden lime mixed with water is used. The skin is left soaking in the mix for six or seven days until the skin is soft enough to wash the hair off in a barrel of water. The back of the skin must then be scraped of all membrane and fat so that the skin does not smell when dried. The skin must then be soaked in a pickle...
What makes a real bodhrán? It's a great question, in fact it is the most important question every bodhrán player, new or seasoned, asks themselves when choosing to purchase one. If you would like to see my bodhráns for sale you can visit my store by clicking HERE For me, for 34 years I have researched, tinkered and hammered away trying to figure what exactly makes a great bodhrán beat. You...
The History of The Bodhrán By Paraic McNeela (The Bodhrán Maker) Every year I give a lecture in DCU (Dublin City University) on the topic of The Bodhrán. The fun thing I like to do at the start, to grab the students attention, is to say "The facts you are about to hear are all lies". That of course is not true, but over the years if there is...