At left we show a typical tacked
bodhran..Bodhrans
Spoons and Bones
These instruments constitute the percussion section of an Irish band.
Bodhrans by Malachy Kearns and Paul McAuley. Hand made bodhrans shipped to us directly from Ireland.
Bodhrans by Waltons of Ireland. For those who want a piece of Ireland.
Bodhrans by Buck of Pennsylvania. These are our highest-quality bodhrans, for those who want the very best.
Bodhrans by Mid-East. Solid bodhrans at budget prices.
Music books etc. Manuals, videos etc for the bodhran and all Irish instruments
Care of Your Bodhran: Head Oil
This treatment for your skin bodhran head is intended to preserve it and keep it supple. It's an oil that is supplied to us by the makers of the high-quality Buck instruments, and so you know that it will be good for your bodhran. Comes with instructions on the bottle. About 2 oz. $7
About Bodhrans
The bodhran (pronounced bow'-rahn; it's an Irish word and they like to throw in a lot of letters you don't pronounce) is a Celtic drum. It has a light wood frame with a skin, real or synthetic, drawn tightly over it. Our bodhrans all have two wooden sticks built inside that cross at right angles; these are used by the player to hold the bodhran, and they also help keep its shape.
Bodhrans come in different sizes, and they are either tacked (the skin, also called the head, is fastened down permanently all around) or tunable.
At left we show a typical tacked
bodhran.
Tunable bodhrans come in two variations; some have hardware pieces
on the inside,
as on the bodhran shown at right, and we have one model with an outside tuning mechanism.
Both kinds are tuned with a wrench.
Our bodhrans have goatskin heads, except one Mid-East model which has a synthetic (Fiberskyn) head. The Fiberskyn is a synthetic material which is preferred by some players because moisture and heat do not affect Fiberskyn the way they affect goatskin.
The bodhran is played by hitting or rubbing it with wooden beaters, which come in a whole variety of styles (or you can beat it with your bare hand).
If you let your bodhran get too dry, the skin can split. Application of light leather-goods oil will help to keep the head pliable and prevent damage.
The larger the bodhran, the bigger and deeper the sound (this is a matter of physics and mathematics, and there isn't really anything to be done about it!). The dimension given for each size is the diameter of the rim.
What size you choose is up to you; the smaller ones are easier and less awkward to hold; the bigger ones give a deeper sound, as noted above. Every bodhran is a tradeoff of size versus pitch of the sound.
There are also various rim depths available. The standard rim depth is about 3 1/2 inches. The wider the rim, the larger the sound the bodhran makes. There are bodhrans with rims up to 7.5 inches; these have quite a boom.
We currently carry the Malachy Kearns bodhrans (made in Ireland), Walton's bodhrans (made in Ireland), Buck bodhrans (made in Pennsylvania) and Mid-East bodhrans (made in Pakistan). The Buck bodhrans are the most expensive, the Mid-East are our budget line, and the others lie between.
Ordering information and order form
If you do not receive a reply from us within a day or
so after sending in an order on the order form, or after emailing a question, please
contact us again, as our reply may have been thrown in your
spam bin or may have returned to us. Exceptions: weekends
or when we note on our front page that we are
closed for any reason.
Email us
Back to Irish Musical Instruments page
You are
currently on the Bodhrans, Spoons and Bones page of the web site
www.harpanddragon.com
There are over a hundred pages on this web site; click on the Home Page link
at left to see an outline of this entire site.
The Harp and Dragon
25 Madison St, Cortland, NY 13045 USA
Tel 607-756-7372 Fax/Ans mach 607-756-0366