Thanks to the Chieftains I used to love the bodhran. But now that I play in a session, when I see a circular bag approaching I get cold shivers. Here’s the problem as I see it. Once the guy or gal gets the wrist action he thinks he’s home free and can join a session.
If a fiddler can’t play, he generally (not always) knows it. Same with any instrument…except the bodhran. He thinks he can play everying. He has no sensory feedback to tell him “hey buddy, you suck. Quit will ya”. Another part of the problem is that it’s played so quietly. He thinks nobody notices.
Tell you what, let’s dispense with the bodhran and give me a catfish flopping around in a plastic bucket. Yeah, that’s the ticket!
Thanks for listening, I feel better now.
(To that 50% who can play: please excuse my rant)
Count yourself lucky that the poor bodhran players that have inflicted themselves on you have been quiet players. They -are- played pretty softly in session music (when properly played), but they -can- be very loud, too. Remember they have their origin as war drums…
The story I heard was that they started out as some sort of cheese-making implement (iirc), and that they haven’t been around for more than 70, 80 years. Older players refer to them as tambourines, which I lcve. Sounds so wonderfully uncool.
Oh and I wonder if there are similar posts about whistleplayers on the bodhran board, Skin & Tipper. Actually, I am making that up; I don’t think there is such a board… haven’t met a bodhran player yet who could read and write.
Funny I should come across this thead today, as just last night several people at our session were discussing what a shame it is when our bodhran player doesn’t show up! As fun as it is to slag on the bodhrani in general, (and I know cause I play the tenor banjo and that instrument gets enough of it as well, hehe), but at my session, we’re lucky enough to have an seriously unbelievably talented young bodhran player and he honestly elevates and lifts the music in a spectacular and sensitive way. It simply isn’t the same without him. And combined with our guitar guy, just magic. So, let it be known. We love our bodhran guy. There. lol
I think the rules for rhythm instruments should be the same as for melody instruments. If you don’t know the tune being played, stay out. And if you do know it, don’t just thump away, listen to a complement the other players. The more rhythm instruments, the more likely busyness will degenerate into clutter. I think that you probably don’t need more than two guitarists and one bodhrani on any given tune; maybe they should be taking it in turns. Of course, if a guitarist is playing melody, that is fine.
How about wanna-be bodhran players? :roll:
The trouble with drums is that they attract people who don’t consider themselves in the slightest to have any musical ability. These same people consider the drum to be a thing that requires no musical ability to play.
The worst of it is is that these sort of people are in the majority of drummers, and their lack of musical ability leads them to just hammer away on top of anyone’s music without any regard or respect for the music or those playing it.
For any drum to be played well takes a lot of musical ability, sadly, only a minority of drummers have any. To play music with a good drummer is a wonderful experience, to try to play music with a noise banging idiot who bought a djembe is absolutely painful.
Cheese-making huh? I seem to remember a mining device of some sort…
Oh yeah?
Tommy Kochel
professor of English as a Second Language, English Composition, and German
bodhran player of 18 years.
www.tommyswirled.com
Nice to meet you.
Hi tommyk
Way to go, stand up for the downtrodden bodhran players.
Whitmores75087
A suggestion, learn to play the bodhran youself, then when an errant bodhran player turns up you can demonstrate what is required of him/her. If some of the people who complained about bodhran players took this approach, then the overall standard of bodhran playing would improve.
David
Bodhran player for 13 years
Yawn Not the bodhran thing again… :roll:
Blah blah penknife blah blah the drumming gets faster and faster blah blah when he got back to the car there were four bodhrans on the seat blah blah…
Yeah yeah heard 'em all before, ad nauseum.
Bad any kind of musician can screw a session. Bodhrans are great. Not trad? neither were a lot of the other (now widely accepted) instruments at one time.
If there is a real problem it is probably with bodhrani who don’t play at least one other instrument. A lack of broader musical understanding would be more the issue than the fact that the person in question wanted to play the drum.
haha! That one cracks me up!
Yeah, too many folks think it takes little ability and practice to play drums of any kind.
This is a pet peeve of mine in our GHB band.
All too often a new wantabe drummer shows up and in a couple of weeks the pipers are telling them they should be playing jobs with us! Like they’d want a new piper out there in a few weeks! (After my latest rant to the pipe major this situation will hopefully change).
And you are very correct to say that a good drummer knows the music. This was pointed out very well by an excellent piper and teacher. He overheard some pipers with a holier than thou attitude throwing off on drummers. He got some drummers to stand up in class and hum the piper’s music. THEN he had these pipers stand and told them to do the same with the drum music. 
Put them in their places quiet nicely, and gained the drummers some much deserved respect.
i’ve always been afraid of drummers myself. they like to hit things with sticks.
Yeah, good gag - but when I first heard it (in the early 80s, at a guess) it was about saxophones.
Oh well, just to save others the trouble of a few dozen posts… These are borrowed from various sources. Beginning with my all time favourite drummer joke:
What’s the difference between a bodhran player and a drum machine?
You only have to punch the rhythm into the drum machine once.
How do you know when the bodhran player is sitting up straight?
He drools out of both corners of his mouth
What do you someone who hangs around with a group of Irish musicians?
A bodhrán player.
What is the difference between a bodhrán player and a terrorist?
Terrorists have sympathisers.
How do you know when there is a bodhrán player at your front door ?
The knocking gets faster and faster and faster…
Why do bodhrán players find it difficult to enter a room ?
They never know when to come in.
What’s the difference between a bodhrán and a trampoline?
You take off your shoes when you jump on a trampoline.
A fiddle player was asked to contribute a dollar to help pay for the funeral of a local bodhrán player.
“Here’s two dollars;” he says “bury another.”
What is the difference between a dead bodhran player lying in the road and and a dead rabbit lying in the road?
The rabbit might have been on it’s way to a gig.
Why is a bodhran player like a foot massage?
A foot massage bucks up the feet, whereas…
Definition of an optimist.
A bodhrán player with a beeper.
How is pre-mature ejaculation like a bodhrán solo?
You know perfectly well what’s about to happen, but you can’t do a thing about it.
(attibuted Tommy Hayes)
Why do men make better bodhran players than women?
Because they have already mastered the wrist movement.
What’s the difference between a bodhran and an onion?
Most people cry when they cut up an onion.
for the three or so people in the world who don’t know the one Wanderer commented on:
A bodhran player remembered that he had left his bodhrán in his unlocked car. He rushed back in a panic, and when he opened his car door he found four more bodhráns in the back seat.
Thanks buddhu!
Be afraid. Be VERY afraid. 
edited to add-
I working on my 21 month old grandaughter already-
Yeah, yeah I know she’s using the tenor sticks, but she was getting a bit violent with the beater…
Awww… 
Cool kid!