Wow, I haven't been here for about 4 years. Anyway...
How is a synthetic bodhran head (such as Fiberskyn) attached to the rim of the drum if it has an internal tuning mechanism? Is the stiff edge hoop of the head cut off and the head then tacked on to the rim like a regular skin? Or have I missed something completely here? I don't really get out as much as I should, so I haven't seen a great variety of bodhrans in detail, so this is just to satisfy my curiosity.
Not sure if it can be done without re-designing the bodhran (I have never used a synthetic skin so what I'm saying is I'm not altogether sure).
I would imagine if you started tacking holes in it , it would rip off quite easily.
Why not just get a proper skin for it if needs replacing? You can then flog your plastic one to a snare drummer. Good luck.
Hi there Michael, still sniping away I see.
Hope you are keeping well....regards......curlew.
Would the attachment you refer to consist of cherry red DM's, shortish turned up Levis, Ben Sherman shirt, Chelsea FC scarf and a bunch of Desmond Dekker 7" vinyl singles?
Oi! Oi!
Hey fap, lay off poor llig, you must be new here & so are obviously not aware of poor llig's deep rooted, phsychological problems!
To understand where llig is at, you must have an understanding of Abraham Maslow’s 'Hierarchy of Needs'.
You see, when a person’s physiological needs, safety needs & feelings of belonging are satisfied, the needs for esteem can become dominant. Human beings have a need for a stable, firmly based, high level of self-respect, and respect from others. When these needs are satisfied, the person feels self-confident and valuable as a person in the world but when these needs are frustrated, the person feels inferior, weak, helpless and worthless ...... and so it is with llig!
He feels threatened by the expertise of the master percussionist who arrives at his session nonchalantly wielding their Bodhran, or who appear on a thread here to quite innocently discuss the finer points of percussion.
So, as his pathetic feelings of inferiority overcome him, he lashes out in the only way his limited intellect knows how ..... verbally, to ridicule them, in a feeble attempt to achieve for himself some small feeling of elevated status.
However, sadly for him, his efforts are usually pitied, or worse laughed at, quite unfairly of course, by all around, for we realise that the poor fellow is destined to remain but a lowly string player.
So cut the poor fellow a little slack eh ...... he's more to be pitied than scolded!
Dargs,
to answer your question, I presume the rim of the fibreskin head is held on the frame by means of a metal hoop, similar to a banjo arrangement. this hoop is in turn, held by adjustable hooks which can be tightened to tune it. Scroll to the bottom of this page to see one:- http://www.harpanddragon.com/bodhransmideast.htm
The very idea of a synthetic skin is that it does not require "tuning" as it is unaffected by weather, however many do have an inner rim to adjust the pitch to personal preference. Takes all the fun out of the trade I reckon.
You could always saw off the long bit sticking out from a Paragon banjo, and snap off all the strings. You'd be left with a lovely bodhran. If you turned the left over long bit with frets on in a lathe you'd get a nice tipper. Or better still, borrow your neighbour's Chris Wilkes' flute head joint, fill the hole in with araldite, and whittle the middle down so your fingers fit in. Perfect tipper. But remember - keep the middle section and fill it with beads then seal up all the holes - makes a lovely shakey egg substitute. and the end-piece can be split down the middle to make a pair of substitute spoons. then you'd have it all used up, no waste. Nothing annoys me worse than waste.
Hello Dargs
www.bodojo.com is a great resource for bodhran players, and there's no sh1te from the likes of Mr. Llig, psycho problems or otherwise!
And I'm fairly sure the fyberskin has been covered there at some stage.
Best of luck
Fiach
Thanks for your input, but I'm afraid I might have opened a can of worms with llig - I like his biting wit, wherever it may bite! I'm in Australia, so people here round the bottom end of the world are fairly positive about synthetic heads because our climate is so difficult.
I guess the point of my post was not really aimed at the merits of bodhran technology - although I play trad music, I also build koras (those african harp-lutes, hang on, maybe llig is right after all - I actually DO need to get something worthwhile to preoccupy me!!!). I'm redesigning my kora to use a bodhran based resonating body (instead of my usual wooden rimmed-banjo-kit-tom hybrid). I use external tuning lugs, which dig into your legs when you play, so I'm going for internal tuning to get around this. And the instrument needs to have a tunable skin/head so I can get the tension really high to cope with the downward force of the strings.
Anyway, thanks to mcknowall, turns out I did miss something entirely, so I'll go for the glue and staples method. Oh, and by the way, mcknowall, I own one of your tippers, the Aussie Battler model I think. I like it a lot - I own a skin bodhran and wouldn't have it any other way. Except a synthetic kora. Or something.
Glues ain"t Glues pal,use Weldbond on very clean, scuffed surfaces, pull it very tight as you staple it, wrap it tightly with a rubber compression bandage until the glue dries and tap the staples flush before adding a binding.......easy.
So, using bodhran based technology to build a Kora. I have for years now cited the bodhran as the exception to the rule of "everything has it's uses". I must now have to admit to being wrong.
Re: Bodhran skin - how do you get the skin to fit and tighten around the rim ? Do you need special equiptment ?
I tried to soak and 'fit' around a rim but could not manage to get a proper ''fit'
On the kORA - are we talking about the African Harp ?
Why not start a section on the 'Celtic Kora' - tips, learning resources, tuning etc.
Hi Naoise - I think it'll be an easier job fitting up a synthetic skin rather than a natural one, there'll be less play in the skin. Haven't quite worked it out yet to fit it up properly, but I'll be doing a dry run on some cheaper material first before I start ruining any precious and slightly pricey laminated mylar. But yes, the kora as in the African harp. I haven't really come across many resources on the kora playing trad music (although Afro Celt Sound System incorporates some elements of both), but as Dow says, it is great for playing Carolan tunes. Apparently some Carolan tunes are closely related (maybe coincidently) to classical kora music. I think the instrument is fairly limited to solo work if you were to play tunes on it, because the pitch centre is usually in F.
The problem with the more usual 21-string kora is you are limited to the bass notes you can play - only the tonic, the 5th, 6th and 7th, so you're missing out on the very useful 3rd and 4th. Koras from the Cassamance region have a few more strings, up to 24 or 25 strings which help fill out the bass. There are koras with 28 strings, but I think these are similar to the 25 string versions with (I believe) 3 sympathetic strings that run through the middle of the bridge. The tension must be enormous.
Anyway, Dow, you're in Sydney, aren't you? So am I. Perhaps you might be good enough to let me see your kora? I've built mine just from reading articles, looking at photos and listening to sound clips - I only ever saw one in real life once up close, and it was very briefly. Maybe you could play on my instrument and give me some pointers for improvement?
Bodhran skin/head attachment...
Bodhran skin/head attachment...
Hi everyone,
Wow, I haven't been here for about 4 years. Anyway...
How is a synthetic bodhran head (such as Fiberskyn) attached to the rim of the drum if it has an internal tuning mechanism? Is the stiff edge hoop of the head cut off and the head then tacked on to the rim like a regular skin? Or have I missed something completely here? I don't really get out as much as I should, so I haven't seen a great variety of bodhrans in detail, so this is just to satisfy my curiosity.
Hope someone can shed some light on this.
Thanks!
-andy-
# Posted on March 6th 2007 by dargs
Re: Bodhran skin/head attachment...
Maybe you should get out more. And get something worth while to preoccupy you
# Posted on March 6th 2007 by llig leahcim
Re: Bodhran skin/head attachment...
don't think i ever seen a synthetic bodhran head
# Posted on March 6th 2007 by molloy
Re: Bodhran skin/head attachment...
Hi Andy
Not sure if it can be done without re-designing the bodhran (I have never used a synthetic skin so what I'm saying is I'm not altogether sure).
I would imagine if you started tacking holes in it , it would rip off quite easily.
Why not just get a proper skin for it if needs replacing? You can then flog your plastic one to a snare drummer. Good luck.
Hi there Michael, still sniping away I see.
Hope you are keeping well....regards......curlew.
# Posted on March 6th 2007 by curlew
Re: Bodhran skin/head attachment...
"Maybe you should get out more. And get something worth while to preoccupy you
by llig leahcim"
Not a very nice reply to someone I am thinking or am i missing a hidden joke somewhere?
# Posted on March 6th 2007 by fap
Re: Bodhran skin/head attachment...
You just have to keep up the steady drip drip. It's for the best in the long run
# Posted on March 6th 2007 by llig leahcim
Re: Bodhran skin/head attachment...
Would the attachment you refer to consist of cherry red DM's, shortish turned up Levis, Ben Sherman shirt, Chelsea FC scarf and a bunch of Desmond Dekker 7" vinyl singles?
Oi! Oi!
# Posted on March 6th 2007 by yhaalhouse
Re: Bodhran skin/head attachment...
Hey fap, lay off poor llig, you must be new here & so are obviously not aware of poor llig's deep rooted, phsychological problems!
To understand where llig is at, you must have an understanding of Abraham Maslow’s 'Hierarchy of Needs'.
You see, when a person’s physiological needs, safety needs & feelings of belonging are satisfied, the needs for esteem can become dominant. Human beings have a need for a stable, firmly based, high level of self-respect, and respect from others. When these needs are satisfied, the person feels self-confident and valuable as a person in the world but when these needs are frustrated, the person feels inferior, weak, helpless and worthless ...... and so it is with llig!
He feels threatened by the expertise of the master percussionist who arrives at his session nonchalantly wielding their Bodhran, or who appear on a thread here to quite innocently discuss the finer points of percussion.
So, as his pathetic feelings of inferiority overcome him, he lashes out in the only way his limited intellect knows how ..... verbally, to ridicule them, in a feeble attempt to achieve for himself some small feeling of elevated status.
However, sadly for him, his efforts are usually pitied, or worse laughed at, quite unfairly of course, by all around, for we realise that the poor fellow is destined to remain but a lowly string player.
So cut the poor fellow a little slack eh ...... he's more to be pitied than scolded!
# Posted on March 6th 2007 by Ptarmigan
Re: Bodhran skin/head attachment...
tee he
# Posted on March 6th 2007 by llig leahcim
Re: Bodhran skin/head attachment...
Or you could just send that bodhran (with the skinhead attached) round to my house to sort me out
# Posted on March 6th 2007 by llig leahcim
Re: Bodhran skin/head attachment...
Fair enough llig, I'm sending this skinhead round to see you:
http://www.freeyourmindproductions.com/gallery/displayimage.php?album=33&pos=22
# Posted on March 6th 2007 by Ptarmigan
Re: Bodhran skin/head attachment...
Ptarmigan, that guy's skin would make a fine bodhran, he has the celtic designs that tourists love!
# Posted on March 6th 2007 by Backer
Re: Bodhran skin/head attachment...
And I just noticed his tee shirt, or is it tee hee shirt :-o
# Posted on March 6th 2007 by Backer
Re: Bodhran skin/head attachment...
Dargs,
to answer your question, I presume the rim of the fibreskin head is held on the frame by means of a metal hoop, similar to a banjo arrangement. this hoop is in turn, held by adjustable hooks which can be tightened to tune it. Scroll to the bottom of this page to see one:-
http://www.harpanddragon.com/bodhransmideast.htm
# Posted on March 6th 2007 by Backer
Re: Bodhran skin/head attachment...
Michael has p[roblems, my dear Fap, too deep to go into. Ptarmigan was basically right, if you remove the smiley.
# Posted on March 7th 2007 by bodhran bliss
Re: Bodhran skin/head attachment...
The very idea of a synthetic skin is that it does not require "tuning" as it is unaffected by weather, however many do have an inner rim to adjust the pitch to personal preference. Takes all the fun out of the trade I reckon.
# Posted on March 7th 2007 by mcknowall
Re: Bodhran skin/head attachment...
Oh, and the answer to the question is (a) glue,or (b) metal band or (c) glue and staples.
# Posted on March 7th 2007 by mcknowall
Re: Bodhran skin/head attachment...
You could always saw off the long bit sticking out from a Paragon banjo, and snap off all the strings. You'd be left with a lovely bodhran. If you turned the left over long bit with frets on in a lathe you'd get a nice tipper. Or better still, borrow your neighbour's Chris Wilkes' flute head joint, fill the hole in with araldite, and whittle the middle down so your fingers fit in. Perfect tipper. But remember - keep the middle section and fill it with beads then seal up all the holes - makes a lovely shakey egg substitute. and the end-piece can be split down the middle to make a pair of substitute spoons. then you'd have it all used up, no waste. Nothing annoys me worse than waste.
# Posted on March 7th 2007 by Key Maniac Lad
Re: Bodhran skin/head attachment...
Llig likes bodhran posts, I see
# Posted on March 7th 2007 by Llibert
Re: Bodhran skin/head attachment...
Hello Dargs
www.bodojo.com is a great resource for bodhran players, and there's no sh1te from the likes of Mr. Llig, psycho problems or otherwise!
And I'm fairly sure the fyberskin has been covered there at some stage.
Best of luck
Fiach
# Posted on March 7th 2007 by RockyRoader
Re: Bodhran skin/head attachment...
Hi again everyone!
Thanks for your input, but I'm afraid I might have opened a can of worms with llig - I like his biting wit, wherever it may bite! I'm in Australia, so people here round the bottom end of the world are fairly positive about synthetic heads because our climate is so difficult.
I guess the point of my post was not really aimed at the merits of bodhran technology - although I play trad music, I also build koras (those african harp-lutes, hang on, maybe llig is right after all - I actually DO need to get something worthwhile to preoccupy me!!!). I'm redesigning my kora to use a bodhran based resonating body (instead of my usual wooden rimmed-banjo-kit-tom hybrid). I use external tuning lugs, which dig into your legs when you play, so I'm going for internal tuning to get around this. And the instrument needs to have a tunable skin/head so I can get the tension really high to cope with the downward force of the strings.
Anyway, thanks to mcknowall, turns out I did miss something entirely, so I'll go for the glue and staples method. Oh, and by the way, mcknowall, I own one of your tippers, the Aussie Battler model I think. I like it a lot - I own a skin bodhran and wouldn't have it any other way. Except a synthetic kora. Or something.
Thanks everyone!
Regards,
Andy
# Posted on March 8th 2007 by dargs
Re: Bodhran skin/head attachment...
Glues ain"t Glues pal,use Weldbond on very clean, scuffed surfaces, pull it very tight as you staple it, wrap it tightly with a rubber compression bandage until the glue dries and tap the staples flush before adding a binding.......easy.
# Posted on March 8th 2007 by mcknowall
Re: Bodhran skin/head attachment...
So, using bodhran based technology to build a Kora. I have for years now cited the bodhran as the exception to the rule of "everything has it's uses". I must now have to admit to being wrong.
# Posted on March 8th 2007 by llig leahcim
Re: Bodhran skin/head attachment...
I got a kora for Christmas. My brother bought it for me in Timbuktu. It's great for playing Carolan tunes on.
# Posted on March 8th 2007 by Dow
Re: Bodhran skin/head attachment.. & the Kora ?
Re: Bodhran skin - how do you get the skin to fit and tighten around the rim ? Do you need special equiptment ?
I tried to soak and 'fit' around a rim but could not manage to get a proper ''fit'
On the kORA - are we talking about the African Harp ?
Why not start a section on the 'Celtic Kora' - tips, learning resources, tuning etc.
# Posted on March 9th 2007 by Naoise
Re: Bodhran skin/head attachment...
Hi Naoise - I think it'll be an easier job fitting up a synthetic skin rather than a natural one, there'll be less play in the skin. Haven't quite worked it out yet to fit it up properly, but I'll be doing a dry run on some cheaper material first before I start ruining any precious and slightly pricey laminated mylar. But yes, the kora as in the African harp. I haven't really come across many resources on the kora playing trad music (although Afro Celt Sound System incorporates some elements of both), but as Dow says, it is great for playing Carolan tunes. Apparently some Carolan tunes are closely related (maybe coincidently) to classical kora music. I think the instrument is fairly limited to solo work if you were to play tunes on it, because the pitch centre is usually in F.
The problem with the more usual 21-string kora is you are limited to the bass notes you can play - only the tonic, the 5th, 6th and 7th, so you're missing out on the very useful 3rd and 4th. Koras from the Cassamance region have a few more strings, up to 24 or 25 strings which help fill out the bass. There are koras with 28 strings, but I think these are similar to the 25 string versions with (I believe) 3 sympathetic strings that run through the middle of the bridge. The tension must be enormous.
Anyway, Dow, you're in Sydney, aren't you? So am I. Perhaps you might be good enough to let me see your kora? I've built mine just from reading articles, looking at photos and listening to sound clips - I only ever saw one in real life once up close, and it was very briefly. Maybe you could play on my instrument and give me some pointers for improvement?
# Posted on March 11th 2007 by dargs