Bodhran

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The bodhran (pronounced “bar-UHN”) is an Irish folk instrument often used to accompany the fiddle, penny whistle, or bagpipes. It is a wide, flat, circular drum, roughly 16” in diameter, made with goat skin and played with a special stick called a ‘beater’ or ‘tipper’. Players use a unique brushing motion to strike the drum down and up with the backside of the tipper. A triplet (three hits in a row) can be achieved with a flick of the wrist to create super-fast patterns.

How to Obtain

Bodhrans come in two main types: tunable and non-tunable. The goatskin drumhead of the bodhran changes tension (and therefore pitch) based on humidity and temperature, and players often spread water on it to lower the pitch before playing. Tunable bodhrans take some of the guesswork out of this process because you can control the pitch with a twisting mechanism built into the drum. Bodhrans cost $70-$150, and I recommend checking out Lark in the Morning’s online store (including their B Stock list). Also, make sure you obtain a tipper that is right for you! I purchased this tipper online and much prefer it to that one that came with my bodhran.