Bodhran (Irish Frame Drum) Tutorial

[@geemac9380]

Finally! Someone showing how to hold the tipper properly. Thank you so much. I've blown through four different teachers tutorials but remained sounding naff. Your tutorial is the absolute charm. Grateful!

[@BardofCornwall]

Glad it helped!

[@RyanLorensen]

I'm sure everybody has already said this, but WHAT A WONDERFUL TUTORIAL!!! Appreciate the detail

[@dannyhughes9874]

You said that you are not an expert but I found your tips to be honest, user friendly, very well presented and useful. Thanks from The Holy Land where listening to and playing Irish music is very popular and mostly at a high level.

[@arandebaron8451]

Awesome and most importantly, encouraging! Thank you for the time. I think it has nearly been 20 years since I wanted to own a bodhran. This video has sealed the deal. I have been playing drums for a very long time and I wanted to take it to this level.

[@kenattaway721]

Thanks, Jesse...I have drummed on things most of my long life...now that I have reached my late 70's, it's time to try the bodhran...this video helped make up my mind...

[@carolinhughes]

Ken Attaway w

[@brianfreel1384]

consider you a friend

[@Invisible_Hermit]

Great tutorial, Jesse. I'm 54, and played drums for many years in the past. I've loved the Bodhran drum for ages, and have always wanted to play one. Your tutorial was very clear and concise, and intelligently presented. Thank you so much! Time for me to buy one and get practicing!

[@SteppingIntoBig]

You do an AMAZING job of sharing information clearly, concisely, and with practically zero "ums". I've heard a lot of professional speakers who don't do as good a job as you. Thank you!!

[@jamesewanchook2276]

great instructional vid. I will call Bridget now! Good luck to you Jessie!

[@LesHerridge]

Many thanks, Jessie. You put in lots of useful detail that many of the other tutors leave out. Keep up the good work!

[@freedomspeak3130]

Thanks Jesse! This is the BEST overview, and tutorial that I have seen on the bodhran. You cover a broad spectrum of the drum and the viewer never feels bored as you seem to know when to move on to the next subject. You showed just enough playing that gives a GREAT insight to the versatile sounds that this drum can achieve, which was VERY enlightening! I was amazed to see that this drum can sound like a whole kit when played with techniques that you superbly demonstrated! You have perfectly covered so many subjects on this drum that I feel i have very good foundation and understanding of this instrument. Before I saw your video the bodhran was completely foreign to me. You have even managed to give me confidence of how to purchase, how to care and maintain, how to hold both drum and tipper, how to play from basic technique to more advanced; plus you have given attention to quality media delivery, like making certain you have a clear and realistic audio mix, and clear imagery for the viewer to actually see what you are demonstrating! ...wow! thank you for being intelligent in what you have created and selflessly offered here! Your thoughtfulness, logic, and sincerity in your delivery of what you are sharing is sooooooo GREATLY appreciated! Thank you my friend, you are a great person! Good luck in all that you do.

[@BardofCornwall]

Thanks for the support, Freedom Speak!

[@charlottesok]

fantastic! i love the way you go from 0 to rolls!!

[@bevabela]

Hi Jesse, Thanks very much for this great introduction to the bodhran for beginners like me. You are a really good teacher with a clear and calm instruction. Cheers Bev , Perth Australia

[@karlbannister6295]

I have struggled for years with tipping but I'm determined ,You my new friend are exactly how I am going to learn ,you are very good at teaching and I have to learn this war drum sound thank you and I have been drumming along on my drum for a very long time

[@BardofCornwall]

I'm glad you found it useful, Karl. Good luck with it!

[@2d2pmusic]

Jesse - Thank you so much for this video. I've been struggling to the point of giving up, but after watching your video, something just clicked. Really grateful. Thank you.

[@cowboyathlete]

This is helping me to get used to my first ever bodhran. I already know I want one deeper and without handles, but I have to start somewhere.

[@sassyandi]

I loved watching this--great advice and so well done! Interesting and informative. Thank you for posting this.

[@laynegneiting6665]

Great video, Jesse! Conversational and open, like we're sitting down as friends after tea. I received a bodhran for Christmas and feel my first trembling steps into the percussion world. Your video helped.

[@BardofCornwall]

Thanks, Layne. Good luck with it, and Happy New Year.

[@caddydrummer]

Bravo! The most informative video that I have come across on youtube (and I've seen my fair share)! Thanks Jesse!

[@k.r.murphy4301]

Thank you!! I'm just starting out and this was huge. Very easy to follow, well explained and demonstrated. I was just guessing up till this point!!

[@praventz]

I want to learn the bohdran because of Sean McCann! This is a really great tutorial I had no idea where to start and this really set me in the right direction :)

[@paulsvenson4412]

Goodonyer Jesse, great presentation and honest advice for us newbies on the drum. I have played kitwork and now using (Sleishman drums)all my life and now to move to hand drums and bodhran to teach group music therapy and neuro adaptation, and you have been my first youtube lesson. Cheers

[@terrykayak1]

Thanks watched so many different videos ....your video is at the right level for a beginner like me 😊 gives me confidence to try to play at least at a basic level

[@fineartist7710]

Excellent introduction, very detailed and informative.

[@shaalis]

Heya man! Great video! I had to share your video with the drum maker at Bridget Drums as well. nice work! :D

[@paulcollins843]

Go raibh míle maith agat. (Thank you very much). I love the sound of a bodhran played solo by a good bodhran player. Your video will help me achieve my goal of playing that well. You have covered everything a new bodhran player needs: how to purchase a good bodhran; how to hold the bodhran and tipper, caring for and tuning the bodhran etc. all in one video. I have subscribed, and I wish you all the best. I like your humble attitude in referring your viewers to others for more expert techniques. But I would add. Before you go to anybody else watch this video to get yourself correctly started.

[@BardofCornwall]

Thanks for the support, Paul. Glad you found it useful.

[@sassyandi]

...and SUCH a beautiful voice!!!!

[@thanosbikos]

Excellent, very detailed tutorial! Thanks a lot for sharing! I'm buying a bodhran these days but I live in Greece so there are no teachers or technical support here. Thanks to this video I'll have a good starting point! Cheers!

[@mattyswift]

Someone got me a Bodhran as a gift - never played it until I watched this video! Cheers. Good place to start.

[@patrishart831]

Thanks you! I like the detail and how to care for the drum.

[@markusgruntgens42]

Great tutorial! Best regards from Germany!

[@molarmama32]

Excellent tutorial. I come from an Arab tradition. I was curious about the Bodhran. Beyond informative. You are a fantastic teacher!

[@turlough286]

In support of your recommendation to buy the best instrument you can afford I once met a fellow who sold stethoscopes and the like to medical schools. A student asked why the stethoscopes were so expensive. The fellow said " A heart surgeon can listen to your heart with a water glass pressed to your chest and hear what is going on but he knows what to listen for. Until you know what to listen for you need the best stethoscope you can get your hands on". Great advice. Great video. .

[@zerosartre]

Jesse, hi! Came to KZbin to find tutorials on the bodhrán. Nice to see you, hope all is well. Wanda

[@alecgrant3628]

Thanks Jesse. Most helpful!

[@haeslein69]

same here.. in Germany in my late 40`s..very good lesson!!!

[@kaslocarol]

Thank you so much for this wonderful tutorial!. I am such a rank beginner and this is so much fun to follow.

[@univacbill]

I just bought a Sean McCann tipper from Long & McQuade and I'm really enjoying it. Excellent job on the tutorial! Karl at Tony's suggested a cymbal case for my new toy (tuneable Remo 14") and it now houses my harmonicas as well. Very useful.

[@johnkosciusko4045]

I received a bodhran from my Irish girlfriend. Thank you SO much for your patient tutelage.

[@malgremor85]

Now laddie, perhaps your video will help me. The trouble is, that every time I buy a bodhran, I cannot resist the temptation to paint it, then someone wants to buy it, for far more than I paid for it, so, I've never owned one long enough to learn to play it well.

[@spoonsperry]

Thanks Jesse its helped me a lot and thanks for all the other ideas included ill keep working on it.

[@daneguitarist1]

I like how serious this was. I learned quite a bit, and am totally the opposite and never take anything serious lol

[@realboltfan]

daneguitarist1 me too haha. I think all my moments combined in life I’ve not been this serious

[@benjaminbrewer2480]

This has gotten me really interested in playing. Thanks for the video. :)

[@satterlybutte]

Thanks. There's always more to learn. Great advice at the end.

[@PeterGregoryDrums]

This is great. Thanks so much!

[@JoeCowleyNEPABeerReviews]

i agree with what you said about finding the tipper that suits you. i have about a dozen tippers and out of them i have 2 or 3 that feel very comfortable in my hand when im playing

[@KingHeadbang]

Thanks for the tutorial, Jesse. And now I'm going to watch your Rocky Road once more.

[@jr88291]

Very well done! Thanks for this.

[@BrigadierGraham]

Invaluable for this learner! thanks marra!

[@MusEdFall2011]

You're an excellent teacher! =)

[@CustomTies]

excellent introduction to the instrument.

[@pgoessnitzer]

Thanks very much! The presentation was very helpful.

[@DSototallyradBush]

rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrraaaaaaaaa

[@gordonmclees7509]

great help, thankyou

[@cactuswren9771]

EXCELLENT!! Old Woman just starting out. Most helpful. Love hearing your Canadian accent! :))

[@matthewpowell1334]

thank you from Theatre-Hikes

[@karenhancock542]

Thank you! You're a good teacher.

[@Omarateastwind]

Great video, as are all your others! I started learning to play about a year ago on a cardboard pizza box, and it worked just fine. If you already have a cheap bodhran, learn how to play some basic patterns and learn some tipper skills...while you save money for a better drum. I finally bought a nice tunable Walton's drum, sanded the skin inside and out with very fine paper and an orbital sander...then put some high quality (3M) electrical tape around the edge of the skin...looks/plays great!

[@vishva8kumara]

If it is not tunable, and when it is a humid day, you are supposed to sit by a fireplace with it until the drum head gets warm, so it stretches back.

[@ChristopherWoodwoodwinds]

thanks i found your tutorial very helpful

[@pgoessnitzer]

Good presentation - very well done.

[@jawknee06]

Very helpful! Thanks so much!

[@TJD213]

this video was very helpful

[@konstantineguruli]

Thank you Jesse! Great tutorial. I am fan of The Dubliners by the way.

[@leorapeoples8886]

very well done! And yes you can get it at your pharmacy

[@thefrantictraveler8708]

Great video, very informative.

[@alanmacdonald3763]

Well done man. righto...into it now

[@sandrageluk]

fantastic this tutorial helped me a lot thanks

[@kerricorser4562]

Great lesson, thank you!

[@jeannamorrissey2956]

beautiful Bridget Drum.....

[@mayhemlok]

Great tutorial! Thank you for all the demos. I've been wanting to get a bodhran for quite sometime and got an excuse to finally get one!Now, I didn't have an opportunity to get out and personally look into one. However, I just purchased one from Mid East, a name I've trusted with other great percussion instruments I own. It's 18 x 3.5, tunable, and has the "crossbar" along with a side bar attached to that. Just mentioning that to hear your thoughts. :)

[@Kittymouth]

I want to make a tipper out of ceramic just to see what kind of sound effects it would produce!

[@Jeeperrandy]

Thanks !

[@juliskasidkafoley6597]

Hi, thank you for the detailed tutorial. I'm learning to play my drum. It was a gift bought online :) It's not tunable, it has a twin crossbar, but it has a beautiful sound nonetheless. Gonna go practice some new moves :)

[@itsaguinness]

Very excellent tutorial Jesse. Any good songs you could recommend playing along too to start?

[@BardofCornwall]

Thanks, itsaguinness. "Barrett's Privateers" would be a good one. I have a full video of it up on my channel.

[@lamadduk]

Thank you, your video was very helpful!

[@MichaelRicksAherne]

Awesome tutorial. I'm a drumset drummer thinking about getting into this (cause I'll be traveling soon -- need something small). Are there "rudiments" to practice? Or once you have the basic strokes you go straight to trying songs?

[@molarmama32]

What is the difference between the Egyptian frame drum and the Bodhran? Please help, Yes lost my Allen key.

[@HunnyKidd1973]

I like the fact that you use a variety of tippers. You said that we could find a tutorial of how to make the one with squiers. I would love to find that, any suggestions? By the way, we don't have a drum kit in church so I use my bodhran. It is interesting and I need to learn more.

[@alfredbarten4901]

Thanks. Great video!!!

[@arvoredamontanhaolei]

really really nice!

[@Tokenblackguy04]

The eye contact at 25:04 was unnerving

[@benestwice]

C'est la vie !

[@Rayxl1]

If anything I like the skin a but on the slack side. If its too slack you can tighten it when you're playing but if its to tight you can't slacken it. I would be careful about tensioning a tunable drum in damp weather. If it dryes out it puts huge tension on the skin and frame.

[@nathanaelbennett8286]

Jesse, awesome video! Where is your music available at? The link no longer works.

[@BardofCornwall]

store.cdbaby.com/Artist/JesseFergusonThanks, Nathaneal. Here's the link:

[@Gyenoveva]

Great video! :)

[@Lythilien1]

Thank you so much! very very helpful ^ ^ :D

[@Bill65]

Cheers Jesse that's a big help:)

[@fantaizy4]

Hello Jessie, could you tell me what size is your bodhran ; thank you very much.?

[@old60sdrummer]

I'm enjoying this video as a potential player. I've checked the comments as well, but I can't find out what diameter & depth this particular drum is. Anyone care to help?

[@jhummelgaard9310]

Thank you so much!

[@charlieglynwoods4642]

What do you call the barbecue skewer tipper? Is there a name for it? I would like to know? My completed a regular bodhran tipper for me out of a branch of a Holly tree and I am still working on one at the moment.

[@BardofCornwall]

@YourPhilOfCanada All may not be lost if you buy a cheaper drum. I've heard that very fine sandpaper rubbed carefully over the skin can remove the raspiness. Be careful, though, not to go too deep. I haven't tried that myself, so you may be taking your chances. Also, the lanolin oil can really help an overly tight skin.

[@Firewallrockandmetal]

Buying a cheap one is by far the best thing to do; no point spending a lot of money until you're happy that you can play the thing properly. Besides, a good player on a cheap bodhran will ALWAYS sound much better than a bad player on an expensive one!

[@andrewringrose9246]

Hi Jesse I have a question; I just bought a 16 inch non tunable bodhran today, should I condition the skin right away or should I wait until I have played it for awhile. I love your lesson by the way !

[@BardofCornwall]

Hi Andrew. I would play it a little first. If the tension of the skin is just where you like it, then I would wait to condition it, as adding the oil/conditioner will tend to reduce the tension. If, however, it's a little tight (e.g. high pitched and hard to press in with your hand), then I would condition it now.

[@andrewringrose9246]

@@BardofCornwall Okay thank you so much! I just finished watching your video and starting to play it !

[@JLeoFipple]

Very helpful video Jesse, what make is your bodhran? Thanks

[@mecchie]

How did you get the Sean McCann tipper? I've loved GBS and SM since the beginning. Also you should look up Pierre Schryer and the Canadian Celtic Celebration. I am trying to get you up here to Thunder Bay. Would love to get you here and meet you in person! Been following you for a while! Celtic in Thunder Bay is all through Pierre.

[@ok-tchau]

As a beginner I fear getting used to a hand posture that feels confortable for regular strokes but won't allow me to make triplets in the future.

[@SireRoan]

JUST GREAT

[@andfolk254]

Fantastic stuff, Jesse. Very helpful. I wonder could you tell me what pattern Maggie Boyle is playing here. I want to sing solo with the bodhran and this sounds great. Cheers, Andrew Maggie Boyle 'Searching For Lambs' VRC0128

[@rexmundi3108]

As somebody who has played the bodhran for almost 30 years, the best advice I could give is don't haul it out and accompany someone without asking. That only works for the best, and not even then always. OOOH IRISH MUSIC??? I HAVE MY DRUM!!! I've seen it way too often. In fact some Irish musicians say the best way to play the bodhran is with a knife.

[@mimimusic4710]

Thanks for wonderful video! Could you let me know which brand of the bodhran you use? Thanks!

[@BardofCornwall]

Thanks, Mimi. It's a Bridget Drum.

[@luluflowers9277]

@@BardofCornwall OK, thank you for the info! I appreciate it :)