|
THURSDAY 01 OCTOBER, 2009 |
 How to Play a Bodhran Many people mistakenly believe that to play a bodhran it simply involves hitting it at random to produce a sound. If only it were this easy! In fact, there are various strokes that need to be taken into account as well as rhythm, arrangement and sound dynamics.It is best to play a bodhran drum whilst seated. This enables you to keep it steady by balancing it on your knee and support it with you upper body and arm. Whilst the bodhran is balanced upon the knee it needs to be supported by placing one hand against the skin behind the drum. Some bodhran’s have a crossbar at the rear of them which can be used to support them. The pressure placed upon the skin by the hand controls the pitch and tone of the sound. Moving the hand from the centre of the drum towards the rim will also produce a higher pitch. The free hand uses the tipper to strike the drum. Depending upon where in Ireland the Bodhran is being played, the style of the strike varies. The most common method of playing is the ‘Kerry’ style which will be the style we will explore below. For the basic stroke only the smaller end of the tipper comes into contact with the bodhran. Hold the tipper the same way that you would hold a pen. Twist the arm gently from side to side (almost like you are shaking a tin) being careful not to bend the wrist. Make an arc movement with the tipper so that the head of the tipper hits the drum once on the way down and again on the way up. This is the basic stroke and, with practice you should be able to keep a regular rhythm, tone and volume. With experience, the stroke can grow more complex so that during the ark movements the upper head can be used to add extra beats between the strokes. It may be beneficial to practice your playing with other musicians who can help you to keep in time with the music. When using the bodhran to play along with music, the player must time their strikes to the rhythm of the beat. However, the make their playing more expressive the player can syncopate the weaker beats, add double pulses and take ‘rests’ between beats. There are many combinations that can be used for every song; it’s only limited by imagination! To avoid risk of strain when playing the bodhran it is important that the wrist is kept straight when striking the drum. If it does start to hurt, stop playing and do some hand stretching exercises. If this still doesn’t relieve the pain then put the drum down for the remainder of the day and come back to it another time. Please visit the following link if you are interested in viewing our bodhran. You may find this tutorial of interest if you would like to advance your playing technique.
Reprint Rights You may reproduce the content of this article onto your own website. However, to do so you must include a link back to HandcraftedUK. Thank you. News for Monday 14 September, 2009 View all news for Monday 14 September, 2009 on one page Recent News
|
Items: 0
Amount: £0.00  
NewsletterSign up to our newsletter and be the first to know of new items and special offers! |