Hi Lolly,lollycross wrote:Hi all,
I need to purchase a Bodhran on line. My usual sources don't sell them.
Does anyone have an idea on where to go? I don't need an expensive one, nor a case.
Thanks,
Lolly
I'm Paul Marshall from Bangor in N Ireland, I'm new to this board. Greetings everyone.
I'm a pro musician and do play a little bodhran but I'm no expert. I am fascinated by and actively researching, this super wee drum. You can read more at http://www.drumdojo.com/bodhran/.
A couple of basic helpful questions you can ask yourself...what type of player are you or do you want to be, find a sound you like and can aim for. If you are a novice, how much bodhran have you heard?
For me, I can see a couple of different types of drum developing for different sounds and tonalities. The traditional drum has a heavy, thicker skin and really needs to be played a while to really find its voice. This is 'thumpy' in sound and very percussive. The other main contender is a thinner more flexible skin such as you'll find on an O'Kane and on a Metloef (Please not Meatloaf, Rob'll groan :) These are more tone-oriented drums and are very sensitive instruments capable of a huge range of sounds. It is a relatively new breed of drum and there are styles developing which are suited to these sounds, top-end style being a case in point.
A flexible thin skin will give you good tone from the drum out of the box, it has great musical range for pitch when playing, usually over an octave. and it can be played melodically with a little practise. To me it's a more versatile drum, but that's only my opinion. The sensitivity of the skin also allows it to be more accurately 'treated' with appliques so you can 'design your sound' to an extent
I'd heed any advice to stay away from cheap 'bodhrans', you'll usually find them so tight they're more suited to mid eastern finger style drumming generally. Those I've heard that were played-in weren't great. Most end up on a wall and come out with a few beers :). The skins are mass produced [in Pakistan?] to an o.k. quality threshold but not bodhran-specific. They're usually bleached white, dry as a bone and have no real flexibility.
I'd recommend you go and try a few drums at a store, go to a seishun, talk with a local player or two, take a few lessons, listen to some hot or interesting players on CD, do a little more familiarising to see what tickles your fancy.
If you need to order one... like tomorrow dude, then I'd say you're most likely to find the instrument more accessible and learner friendly if you can get it good 'out of the box'. IMO that will be a flexy, thin-skinned drum such as an O'Kane or Metloef, I think Darius Bartlett also makes drums like this but I'm unsure. If you don't like it, I'd not expect there to be a shortage of takers for a resell.
It's a lot of money I know, but a cheap imitation instrument will seriously interfere with your ability to learn. Most of what you see on ebay is just that, cheap tat, wall drums. With that said, I've occasionally bought a drum just for the frame. With a new skin it can still be a lovely drum as the shell plays only a small part in the sound of a bodhtran of trad proportions.
On the subject of tutorials, I did a review page of the main tutorials available. I have watched, listened, read and clicked my way through them all, although only the best and worst are written up and on the site.
A summary would be... Frank Torpey's Mad For trad CD rom is good, very professional and clinical, it's expensive; Tommy Hayes Bodhran, bones and spoons video is super-informative and great fun, I think Tommy's use of his suberb but tricky individual style may be a barrier to a novice so the best IMO to learn from is Steafan Hannigan's bodhran basics book & CD, it's well put across, easy to understand and the whole process stacks up very nicely. There is a second advanced series available.
Hope this is useful
Nice to be here :)
Paul
(Drum Nerd)
