Buying your first bodhran

[@TimFromWinfield]

Wish I watched this and a few other videos before I bought mine. I have the one you did not recommend. Still I kinda like it and will keep playing and learning with it, but when I get a point that I want better, this is going to be a huge boost.

Great video

[@paulloughlin1529]

boring guy, boring video ,where do these self-confessed "experts", crawl out of ?

[@shaalis]

I definitely want to redo this video. While the info is good the way I did it was not very good.

[@AG-io5wr]

I purchased my bodhran while on holiday in Ennis Ireland. McNeela 18" non tunable. It goes for $112 as of today. Great for beginners. Large range of sound.

[@Hare_deLune]

Five and a half thousand views and only nineteen likes, with four comments about how badly it was filmed. People are spoiled and lazy! In the early days of KZbin, you were lucky to be able to see anything through the murk of 240p! If you're that sensitive, close your eyes for an instant podcast. There's some good information here, but not enough of it. First off, the thing that's never mentioned or taken into account: Some people out there are POOR. If you are poor, don't let these prices get you down! You don't even need a real drum to practice. I played on corrugated cardboard for two years when I started, with a tipper I carved from a tree branch with a pocket knife. Yeah, yeah, the stories of old fogies. Believe it or not. If you do have a little money, those Cooperman drums are the ones I recommend for beginners. Not tunable, but great quality compared with something like a Remo. Don't laugh, that's all some folks can afford! Being poor is not a crime! Something else not mentioned is Pawn shops. I got that tip from one of the guys in The Tannahill Weavers. He said you can get some real finds in Pawn Shops sometimes. Also, you don't need a tunable drum when starting out. Tunable drums are a luxury. You also don't need all that tape around the drum head. When I got started, it was popular to paint designs on the skin. They looked good until the drum was played for awhile. Now they put tape on 'em. Takes the ringing sound out of skins that are too thin, and the nuances out of the harmonics. Get a nice fourteen to sixteen inch diameter drum with a good quality, thick goatskin, and it'll sound fine. Another thing is the kind of skin to look for. Make sure you can see a dark line across the center, like a shadow. That's where the spine of the goat was, and is a mark (literally!) of a quality skin. Another thing to look for is a consistent coloration with no thin spots when held up to the light. A thick skin will produce a clear, deep sound, and a thin skin will produce a high, ringing sound best used for Middle Eastern music. The thing you do absolutely need is knowledge! Learn the properties of the skin and how to take care of it. Keep your drum in a case to protect it. You can also learn how to mount the skin yourself, so you can change the skin if you want or need to. Also, don't discount your musician friends as a source for new or used instruments. I currently have a Buck tunable Bodhran that I was fortunate enough to get from a musician friend, with a nice skin that I got from another friend. Still meets my needs after twenty years of playing. I just have to clean it with a little saddle soap once in awhile, and it's just like new. Yes, they are hugely expensive, but all good musical instruments are, because they are handmade by craftsmen, something increasingly rare today. If you take good care of them, they will last! If playing music is what you're meant to do, nothing will stop you!

[@chrislabonne7154]

That was then, this is now. This video is not ready for prime time.

[@PetitHibou72]

Wonderful advice. It's true -- we can learn the strokes on almost anything! A tupperware container, etc. Good technical info about drum variables; thanks for the helpful additions.

[@Hare_deLune]

Jessica Wood ♡

[@marszenka]

Thanks. This video annoyed me because yes, $250 is going to break my bank. I’m living on a razor margin. Your comment was encouraging though. Maybe I’ll try that cardboard out.

[@joelalleyne]

Hi, where is the buy & sell website you spoke about? (Joel here in Toronto). Thanks. This was informative.

[@shaalis]

Here you go! facebook.com/groups/bodhranbuyandsell

[@paulsmart5199]

I play in a five piece band and a twosome. I'm a guitarist and writer but want to learn bodhran for only a couple of songs. There's a huge jump in the price range, especially when it's not my main instrument. I have a question though, because it's not at this point a main instrument I will likely cheap out and buy a plain old Walton, the other reason for not spending a lot if I want to paint our bands logo on it. Can you recommend a paint/leather dye or way to do it?

[@shaalis]

Paul Smart. A leather dye might work best. I generally dont recommend painting the hyde as it wont react the same as leather.

[@paulsmart5199]

Shallibodhran thank you. I'm an absolute beginner to this.

[@leonjacobs5618]

great KZbin videos are planned.....not just someone rambling on....

[@ВладимирПутин-д9б]

Жаль, что нет перевода на русский язык..

[@starparent]

Unwatchable.

[@jimpassa1]

Sorry. Hard to watch.

[@shaalis]

Ya I really do need to actually DL some screen capture software!