OKAY. I might be the only flute player who likes bodhran players but I don’t care! I like bodhrans…and I think people should play them LOUD!
I have nothing against bodhran players actually. I just wish they’d play something else…
shouldn’t that be somewhere else
Either something else or somewhere else. Whichever one is fine with me.
(Maybe both?) I just come from a philosophy of singling out behaviors rather than individuals.
I’ve had good luck with:
D: All of the above
Kiss this…
The drum is the heartbeat of music! I say there should be more bodhrans and more people to play them!! And if your flutes are to weak to be heard above them then get a fife! My fife can be heard above a set of great highland pipes no problem. I can’t stand Irish music that does not have a drummer or a weak drummer hidden on the back somewhere.
Granted for airs and some types of tunes or songs a drum will not add much, but there is wayyyy to much music out there with weak drums.
Sounds like most flute players are afraid all the toe tapping bragging rights will go to the drummers for stering a crowd.
Yours truly…
[quote=“Dragon”]Kiss this…
The drum is the heartbeat of music! I say there should be more bodhrans and more people to play them!! And if your flutes are to weak to be heard above them then get a fife! My fife can be heard above a set of great highland pipes no problem. I can’t stand Irish music that does not have a drummer or a weak drummer hidden on the back somewhere.
Granted for airs and some types of tunes or songs a drum will not add much, but there is wayyyy to much music out there with weak drums.
Sounds like most flute players are afraid all the toe tapping bragging rights will go to the drummers for stering a crowd. [quote]
Yours truly…
Actually, I like to hide behind the Bohdran player, either that or a banjo player, being session phobic… 
Ah, as to flute weapons. We shouldn’t forget the flute itself. Long ago, I knocked a guy out cold with low whistle. He pulled a knife on a bandmate, and reflexs took over… 
After the dust has settled, the police were very amused and my choice of weapons.
The drum is the heartbeat of music! I say there should be more bodhrans and more people to play them!! And if your flutes are to weak to be heard above them then get a fife! My fife can be heard above a set of great highland pipes no problem. I can’t stand Irish music that does not have a drummer or a weak drummer hidden on the back somewhere.
Granted for airs and some types of tunes or songs a drum will not add much, but there is wayyyy to much music out there with weak drums.
Whoa Tex…
Remember, there is a lot more to good percussion playing than brute volume. Even in a pipe band…
Speaking as someone who has played this music for 30 plus years and someone who plays various drums…good drumming can add much to a session or concert. However far too often beautiful tunes are wrecked by drooling trolls who can’t hold a beat or worse, think that the most important thing in Traditional music is mindless pounding. As in all things, balance is the key my son.
Listen to a good performance of North Indian classical music. You will likely hear uncanny drumming of the first order. But never is the vocalist or lead instrumentalist drown out, unless there is a drum solo. Many great drumming of many traditions follows this rule.
Remember this too: Irish music was created to be danced to. Whereas dancers need a steady beat, they also need to hear the melody line clearly in order to know when to change step, places etc. in a give dance set. Loud druming defeats the point of the music. I’ve seen too many bodhran players make more enemies than friends this way.
Good luck finding other instrumentalists who’ll play with you.
Again, good luck finding other instrumentalists who’ll play with you (besides drummers and other fifers). And this is coming from a Highland piper.
When I first started listening to Scottish and Irish music I thought the bodhran was so cool because of how it amped the rhythm. But when I began to hear the rhythm embedded in the melody I no longer needed it so explicitly demonstrated. That’s not to say I don’t appreciate good bodhran playing. Colm Murphy accompanying Conal Ó Gráda on “The Gold Ring” or “Ride A Mile” are a couple of my favorite tracks of bodhran accompaniment. And the lads from Flook! and Téada accented the rhythm nicely when I saw them live.
If traditional music was soley oriented towards performing for an audience your jab may have a target but it’s not and so it totally misses the point. I don’t play traditional music to make other peoples’ toes tap. I play it to make my own toes tap and to share it with other musicians. If I can make other peoples’ toes tap then that’s icing on the cake.
Yeah, I’m pro-drum. I’m also anti-stupidity. I love it when melody players treat theirs as a rhythm role, and drummers play melodically.
i have a picture on my pc , with , i’m sure , one of these in use .
i don’t know how to post it here as it seems any pictures have to be in the public domain , and i just picked it up with my camera phone , from my chef’s front room . ( Fu Moon Takeaway )
can i send it to someone , and have it posted , or what is the procedure for this action ?
Just go to http://imageshack.us and upload the photo to the site, then copy the address for posting to hotlinks for forums and post away!
i tried that , but it looked like half my desk top was being uploaded .
don’t like it , don’t want it , not doin’ it..
the picture is propertied at 4 kb , and that site was trying to shift 1.5 megs .
so i’ll try it some other way ..
I have yet to hear a group that had too much drums. I was at a session once where it was filled with people who thought they new music, Irish or otherwise. They were all playing the same tune, but none of them were playing togather. And they sounded H o r r i b l e. The people in the pub were ignoring them, no sign of enjoying their music whatsoever. And they did not need a bad drummer to help them suck; they were good at it all by themselves.
I think the problem was they were so focused on doing their own thing (they focused on their own thing… automatically the right thing in their mind; they were not listening to each other). The were one of the worst musical groups I have ever heard. But, I don’t think they got it, in their head they sounded fine because they were all playing the same tune.
I am not stranger to music or playing it, and it bothers me that people automatically treat a drummer a certan way.
Whoa Tex…
Remember, there is a lot more to good percussion playing than brute volume. Even in a pipe band…Speaking as someone who has played this music for 30 plus years and someone who plays various drums…good drumming can add much to a session or concert. However > far too often > beautiful tunes are > wrecked > by drooling trolls who can’t hold a beat or worse, think that the most important thing in Traditional music is mindless pounding. As in all things, balance is the key my son.
Listen to a good performance of North Indian classical music. You will likely hear uncanny drumming of the first order. But never is the vocalist or lead instrumentalist drown out, unless there is a drum solo. Many great drumming of many traditions follows this rule.
Remember this too: Irish music was created to be danced to. Whereas dancers need a steady beat, they also need to hear the melody line > clearly > in order to know when to change step, places etc. in a give dance set. > Loud druming defeats the point of the music. > I’ve seen too many bodhran players make more enemies than friends this way.
Good luck finding other instrumentalists who’ll play with you.
I have no problem whatsoever. Once I jammed with a classical jazz guitarist in a restaurant that hosted live music (usually jazz) three times a week. The beer stein he had for tips was overflowing with money when we were done.
Again, good luck finding other instrumentalists who’ll play with you (besides drummers and other fifers). And this is coming from a Highland piper.
Not a problem
If traditional music was solely oriented towards performing for an audience your jab may have a target but it’s not and so it totally misses the point. I don’t play traditional music to make other peoples’ toes tap. I play it to make my own toes tap and to share it with other musicians. If I can make other peoples’ toes tap then that’s icing on the cake.
Well…you would fit right in to a particular session group I once heard. They were all playing the same tune, but none of them were playing together. They seemed oblivious that they had no listeners; people were completely ignoring them (or rather trying to). They were there for themselves.
When I play in public I play for the joy of other people and myself. This is because music or any sound is intrusive. In other words, people can’t help but hear you…unlike paintings that can simply not be looked at. When I play just for me I play at home. You see…I play at places that will kick you out if the crowd does not like you. I have never been kicked out. I have always been welcomed back by the owners, which I consider to be an honor. They are Irish, and they get a lot of musicians who want to play there. The key in that place, is to watch the crowd and modify based on their reactions.
Oh yeah…and about my jab. It was not a jab…I was defending bodhran players with the same enthusiasm that people used when they trash them. Its interesting…some people here can give it, but they can’t take it.
That would be very cool. I did that once with a
Classical jazz guitarist during a jam session. We took turns going back and forth. Some times he would play a rhythm and I would play melody, other times, I would play rhythm on my flute and he would play the melody on his guitar.
I have never had the opportunity to do that with a bohran player. There is not many of them where I live.
Being anti-stupid is a good thing. But I think the reason why some musicians keep playing when they just don’t sound good…is they loose situation awareness. They get so into themselves or their own music, they don’t notice the reactions of the people around them or what the group sounds like as a whole.
Looks like it wasn’t enough just to stab them - you give them blood poisoning at the same time 
Do you mean “classic jazz”…
I say if you haven’t been thrown out yet, you’re playing it too safe.
Remarking that others can give it but can’t take it is a common reponse from those who can’t take it. Bodhran players don’t need anybody to take up their cause.
I’m not arguing with you about ensemble playing and performance dynamics. I mostly agree with you on those points. It’s actually bodhran players who ignore those dynamics that have made the instrument a running joke.