Bodhrán

The Irish word bodhrán (plural bodhráin), indicating a drum, is first mentioned in a translated English document in the 17th century.[5] It appears in Jacob Pool's list of words from the Baronies of Forth and Bargy in county Wexford (collected in the late 18th century), meaning "A drum, tambourine...also a sieve used in winnowing corn".[7]

Third-generation bodhrán maker Caramel Tobin suggests that the name bodhrán means "skin tray". He also suggests a link with the Irish word bodhar, meaning, among other things, a drum or a dull sound (it also means deaf).[5][8] A relatively new introduction to Irish music, the bodhrán has largely replaced the role of the tambourine.

The bodhrán is one of the most basic of drums and as such it is similar to the frame drums distributed widely across northern Africa from the Middle East, and has cognates in instruments used for Arabic music and the musical traditions of the Mediterranean region (see Music of North Africa, Music of Greece etc.).[9] A larger form is found in the Iranian daf, which is played with the fingers in an upright position, without a stick. Traditional skin drums made by some Native Americans are very close in design to the bodhrán as well.[8]

Bottom view of a bodhrán-like frame drum made in the 1960s or earlier; note scarf-joined frame.

It has also been suggested that the origin of the instrument may be the skin trays used in Ireland for carrying peat; the earliest bodhrán may have simply been a skin stretched across a wood frame without any means of attachment.[8] The Cornish frame drum crowdy-crawn, which was also used for harvesting grain, was known as early as 1880.[10]

Peter Kennedy observed a similar instrument in Dorset and Wiltshire in the 1950s, where it was known as a "riddle drum", a riddle being a large sieve for separating soil particles from stones etc.[11]

Dorothea Hast has stated that until the mid-twentieth century the bodhrán was mainly used as a tray for separating chaff, in baking, as a food server, and for storing food or tools. She argues that its use as musical instrument was restricted to ritual use in rural areas. She claims that while the earliest evidence of its use beyond ritual occurs in 1842, its use as a general instrument did not become widespread until the 1960s, when Seán Ó Riada used it.[12]

There are no known references to this particular name for a drum prior to the 17th century. Although various drums (played with either hands or sticks) have been used in Ireland since ancient times, the bodhrán itself did not gain wide recognition as a legitimate musical instrument until the Irish traditional music resurgence in the 1960s in which it became known through the music of Seán Ó Riada[4] and others.

Painted Bodhrán for decoration purposes

The second wave roots revival of Irish Traditional music in the 1960s and 1970s brought virtuoso bodhrán playing to the forefront, when it was further popularized by bands such as Ceoltóirí Chualann and The Chieftains.

Growing interest led to internationally available LP recordings, at which time the bodhrán became a globally recognized instrument. In the 1970s, virtuoso players such as The Boys of the Lough's Robin Morton, The Chieftains' Peadar Mercier, Planxty's Christy Moore, and De Dannan's Johnny "Ringo" McDonagh further developed playing techniques.

Although most common in Ireland, the bodhrán has gained popularity throughout the Celtic music world, especially in Scotland, Cape Breton, North mainland Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, and Prince Edward Island. In Southern England tambourines were a popular accompaniment to traditional dance music. In the South West of England a similar instrument made from the frame of a garden sieve was once popular and known as a Riddle Drum. In Cornish traditional music they are called a crowdy-crawn;[13] the use of this instrument to store odds and ends led to the name also being used to mean "miscellaneous". The bodhrán has also found application within the Celtic music of Galicia, often accompanying the gaita gallega (Galician bagpipes).[14]

Playing styles have all been affected by the introduction of the internal tone ring, driven against the skin to tension/loosen it by screws. This was invented by Seamus O'Kane, from Dungiven, County Londonderry, Northern Ireland, to combat the damp conditions of Donegal in 1975. This system was copied from banjo design but adapted for bodhráns. For a few years only about six drums of this type were made, so it was not until the idea was taken and refined by makers that it caught on. This system is now being used by makers from many diverse cultures worldwide. It has revolutionized the making and playing of bodhráns by removing the threat of atmospheric conditions to the tension of the drumhead. The accepted philosophy of thick skins was challenged also at this time by O'Kane's introduction of thin Lambeg skins. This allowed the bodhrán to achieve both higher and lower crisp notes and allowed the players to become more musical and delicate in their playing.

It is currently not unusual for the rim of a bodhran to be covered with electrical tape, either by the drum-maker or the owner. This both reduces "edge-loading" (where the vibrations in the skin hit the rim and bounce back toward the center of the drum), and dampens unwanted overtones, allowing for greater control of the drum's sound. Electrical tape is preferred because the adhesive is rubber-based and will stretch with the skin even after bonding to it, lessening the likelihood of bubbles and other changes in the tape occurring when the skin tension is changed by tuning or atmospheric conditions. Owners of lower quality drums, with thick and rough skins, may also choose to sand the skin very lightly to reduce the rasp when the tipper strikes the face of the drum. Many effects of these and other modifications to the drum-skin, especially high quality skins, can also be achieved through regular use of the drum over time.

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  A tunable bodhrán
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  Inside of a Brendan White bodhrán
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  Standard tuning system of a bodhrán from Pakistan
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  Single-point tuning system by Seamus O'Kane
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  Single Screw Tensioner System by Seamus O'Kane

As world music in general has become more popular, techniques once associated with other ethnic drumming traditions have become widespread in bodhrán playing.

The World Bodhrán Championships are held in Milltown, County Kerry, Ireland each year.