Hi Guys,
Practicing by yourself is ok, i do it all the time, but every now and then would love to have a good beat to practice to,
I have done a search to try to find a good web source to get some bodhran beats for jigs, reels hornpipes etc but failed miserably,
has anyone out there come across such a resource that is worth while,??If you can help i would be greatly appreciative
regards
David
Here is the kind of answer you probbly weren’t wanting or expecting but since nobody else has chimed in I might as well.
There is a bodhran tutor available on video which I actually own but have never played. (Shows how eager I am to learn bodhran.) I’m sure it will contain extended examples of the different dance rhythms for bodhran students. If you can’t find something more specifically directed to your needs it should be easy to adapt this. If you can get the rhythms into your computor you’ll be off and running. You should be able to slow down or speed up to suit your needs and you might also be able to make bits you like loop for as long as you want.
If nothing better turns up and you want to pursue this video, just let me know and I’ll give you details of the video and where to get it. If there is more general interest I’ll post the details to this thread.
“An Gabhairin Binn” A Bodhran Tutor featuring Paddy League and Grey Larsen has a number of tracks with Paddy on bodhran and Grey on whistle. You should be able to find it somewhere on Grey Larsen’s site at www.greylarsen.com.
This a cheezy substiute but if you have a ABC player like ABC Mus.
Go the the Midi and playback options and select a drum (e.g. the melodic tom) as the melody instrument. It will play back with a drum line that mathches the melodic rthym of the tune you have loaded.
Hope that this helps.
Substitute drummers:
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Your foot on the ground/floor/trash can/instrument case…anything that’ll make noise when you kick or stomp it.
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Metronome. In fact, it’s always a good idea to have it keep the beat for you when practicing or learning tunes. It’s a cheap (though earned) thrill when you can play something well enough to justify nudging the ticker up a couple of notches on the metronome.
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A washing machine on wash cycle, and sometimes spin cycle if you have an unbalanced load.
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Electronic keyboard’s drum kits --any cheapie will do, and on most you can program your own beats.
I vote for the metronome. 
Since the keyboard will do anything the metronome can do and more, why vote for the metronome? You’ll never get that feeling of being accompanied using a metronome, and I got the impression that that was what Boomerang wanted.
There’s also PC software which is rather simple to use (but the trial version doesn’t include a Bodhran). With it you can ‘program in’ your own beat, and off you go.
Worth the trial download (I don’t think it expires, at least mine hasn’t) if you want something a bit more ‘adjustable’ and realistic than a metronome’s tick.
hth
I have heard of many people doing very strange things on washing machines…i never thought of whistling to its beat… 
thanks to all for the suggestions,
wombat yes i would be interested in the bodhran tutor…post away 
Thanks again
David
Here’s a link to a local supplier David.
http://www.celt.com.au/percussion.html
The video I had in mind is the Tommy Hayes but when I looked through the other bodhran related material I realised I also had the Hannigan tutor and CD which you might find even more useful.
If you don’t already know about this site, you might come to curse me for introducing you to it. They sell a significant amount of just about everything to do with celtic music and the Gaelic language.
If you are just looking for some form of metronome, fine. (If you have a Mac and OS X consider Apple’s new GarageBand, which makes it easy to lay down a percussion loop or even gasp chords to play to.)
Just a general note: It’s not by coincidence that many if not most Ir Trad musicians complain about Bodhran players. The reason is not so much that the Bodhran players can’t keep a beat—there are plenty who can. The problem is that the they keep the beat. Meaning, since most of the rhythm comes form the melody line, there is no set rhythmic scheme or pattern that will work for every jig or every reel. There is an infinite number of obvious and subtle rhythmic variations from reel to reel or jig to jig, and even with each tune. Putting a steady, unchanging beat behind an Irish tunes (and guitar & 'zook players are often guilty here, too) will in the best case sound like the Bothy Band and in the worst case like crap.
Take for instance a tune like the Cup of Tea. Listen to the stresses and flow of each of the three parts… I think you’ll agree that it would be a shame to have the same beat running behind all three of them.
Scoiltrad also offers a CD tutor:
How much difference would you say there is between the best case and the worst case, Bloomy? 
Seriously, as though I weren’t already, variation in accenting is crucial. The good accompanist knows and respects both the tune and the quirks of the melody players. That said, so long as you know the limitations, and you also practice wholly solo and with good records, it can’t hurt to practice to a generic bodhran beat some of the time I think. Just have it relatively low in the mix and don’t be frightened to accent differently when you should do so. It will certainly help you to keep a steady rhythm and catch you out if you stop to breathe rather than breathe musically.
Oh, come now, I love the Bothy Band. I was going to add a parenthetical to the effect that either sound would be undesirable in a session, though. Then I deleted it again.
Such a thing has never occured to me! Why…how…what…er, oh my.
I think of percussion as winding my way down a twisty, hilly path covered with rocks and lined with branches, and keeping a sure but light footing as the path unfolds beneath me. Not like plodding down railroad tracks. I guess much “rock drumming” is like railroad tracks, though. I can see how that works with certain kinds of music.
I vote for the metronome because it is smaller, more portable, and generally cheaper than most keyboards. Metronomes are generally clock wound, or battery operated (usually just 1 9v).
Keyboards on the other hand need either AC or a whole mess of batteries to run. They take up more space and are also a lot more cumbersome to haul around.
Personally, I don’t like having drum patterns dictate the groove. With a metronome I am freer to create and modify the groove as I’m playing.
I have keyboards and metronomes. I use the metronome far more often.
They’re just my personal preference.
Speaking as a bodhran player myself, I have to agree with Bloomfield on this one. Every tune seems to have a unique flow to it - the A part will have quite a different feel than the B, and the third time through the AA may have a different feel than the first. A metronomic bodhran accompaniment would sound stilted much of the time.