A traditional Irish instrument, the Bodhrán is an open frame drum. The head of the drum is traditionally made out of goat skins, but other animal skins as well as some synthetic materials can be used. The head of the Bodhrán is tacked to one end of the frame and the other end of the frame is left open. This open end allows the player to place one of their hands inside to better control the pitch and timbre of the drum. The Bodhrán can range in size from 25cm to 65cm, or 10 inches to 26 inches in diameter, and its depth can range from 9cm to 20cm, or 3.5 inches to 8 inches.

There are not really any known references to the Bodhrán drum prior to around the 17th century. There are a number of different types of drums that were used since ancient times in Ireland and played either with the hands or with sticks, but the Bodhrán is a drum that did not gain any real wide recognition as being a legitimate instrument for music until the resurgence of Irish traditional music, which occurred around the 1960s, and which allowed it to become widely known by way of the music played by Sean O Riada and numerous other musicians as well. Prior to this point, the Bodhrán was mostly used for the purpose of festival processions, and this was only in the southwestern portion of Ireland.

The second wave of the revival of Irish music tradition in the 1960s as well as the 1970s brought about virtuoso playing of the Bodhrán, bringing it to the forefront of the music movement where it was popularized even further by way of a number of bands including but not limited to The Chieftains and Ceoltóirí Chualann.

Although the Bodhrán is most commonly played in Ireland, it has also managed to gain some popularity through the world of Celtic music, including in Cape Breton, in Scotland, in the north mainland part of Nova Scotia and in Newfoundland as well. There is a Newfoundland based music group called Great Big Sea that makes use of a Bodhrán drum in many of the songs that they produce. There is also an American based Celtic band known as the Sandcarvers that utilizes the Bodhrán drum in many of their recordings as well as a number of their live shows. In traditional music in Cornwall, a version of the Bodhrán that is commonly known as a crowdy crawn is sometimes used. The name of this instrument has often meant "miscellaneous" as it has been used throughout history to store a variety of different odds and ends.

The Bodhrán is an instrument with an unknown past, but a bright future as new modern musicians pick it up and begin to develop new techniques for playing it.

Photo Credits: meonomous

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Acoustic Musical Instruments, Drums, Instrument History

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animal skins, cape breton, celtic music, chieftains, frame drum, goat skins, great big sea, irish music, irish traditional music, music group, music movement, music tradition, open frame, sean o riada, second wave, southwestern portion, synthetic materials, timbre