Help! Bodhran stuck!

Trad Irish Music
1

About 12 years ago we bought a Bodhran in Ireland. A basic non-tuneable model. It always standed on the cupboard, untill some time ago, when i thought: ‘i’m going to give this instrument a try’ I took it from the cupboard, and i saw a crack in the skin :astonished: Luckely enough, not in the middle, but close to the wood.

There never happened something with the instrument, it always stood on the cupboard, so probably some temprature thing that made the crack, in those 12 years.

The first thing that seemed to be the best to do was to put some tape on both sides of the skin. But now it’s still becoming bigger and bigger, ver very slowly. It still sounds ok now, i think it’s still a good instrument.

The first thoughts i have to repair it, is to use some epoxy and glass fibre. But it’s not elastic i guess .. maybe something with a lime gun? that’s elastic .. :sniffle: I don’t know what to do :sniffle: I don’t have lot’s of money, so like to keep this Bodhran. Any suggstions to make it? I would really apreciate it.

Thanks!

2

The bodhrán head is made of goat skin. This will dry out over time. If you know someone who repairs drums you may be able to get a new head made. Otherwise, you can ask a bodhrán maker if you can ship it to him to repair it, but you may find it is cheaper to just buy a new bodhrán.

djm

3

I’ve had a Howard 16" non-tuneable bodhran for about 12 years (it doesn’t get played much - or, rather, it gets bashed occasionally but it never gets played :laughing:) It’s had a crack in the skin about 3/4" long almost since new but this has never got any bigger. I used to worry about this a lot until I realised it wasn’t going to get worse for a long time.

4

Obviously this is not possible with a non-tunable model, but if you’re going to store a tuneable bodhran for a long time, loosen off the skin first to avoid this problem.

You could ask for advice here:

http://launch.groups.yahoo.com/group/Bodhrandojo/

There are a lot more bodhran players there than here!

Generally I agree with djm, getting a professional to re-skin the frame probably isn’t worth it, if it’s just a cheapie frame to start with. Better off getting a new one - a perfect excuse for another trip to Ireland!

5

allright .. thanks for the answers :slight_smile: … i’m going to keep this for some practice and buy a new tuneable one in the future

6

By the topic title I was SURE this was a joke of the “A bodrahn player walks into a bar …” variety. :laughing:

I hope drum and owner are doing better.