What brand you would suggest for a beginner in Canada? What diameter should me and my friend be looking for? What sources should we be referring to if we are unable to find a teacher?
I know a lot of people suggest the O'Kane and Alfonso, but it just too expensive to import them.
At least I am asking where to start, unlike most of the bodhran players! Don't suggest a penknife either. It's either the bodhran or a $1000 button accordion.
I am not as anti-drum as Michael, but if you must choose between the drum and the accordion, go with the accordion. More challenging initially, but in the long run, I think you will find it a lot more satisfying.
If you MUST get a drum, I would suggest 18 inch diameter and tunable.
6 replies and only 1 with any help. Well done. Please, If you have nothing good to say, say nothing.
Back tothe original questions...
Brand ( for the most part) doesn't matter a whole lot for a beginner neither does size to a certain extent.
Bridget and CJ Dixon ( both Canadian) make some nice drums if your going new and want to stay Canadian. Look around locally to see if you can find something used.
16x6 tunable is the consensus for the best size. But again for a beginner that may not be the most important. 18x4 is the most common entry level sized drums.
The lowest I have seen for an decent-sounding accordion is around a thousand. There are some that go as low as $200 and $300 by Milan and other such companies -- but I loathe the sound.
Now, this is not my first instrument...I already play the banjo, guitar and bass. Wind instruments just annoy the hell out of me, and I used to play a fretless banjo, but since my hearing declined in the past few years... I had to go with a fretted.
Hi,
I suggest you pass by: http://www.bodojo.com/
There you'll find a lot of usefull stuff.
Good luck,
Moritz
BTW: Why the hell is all the world hammering on bodhran players?
Listen to the following: http://www.irishtrad.de/mp3/murray.mp3
That's playing! (Eamon Murray and Seamus Egan)
I'd go for the accordion. After I learn how to play this fiddle of mine (in about 20 years), I want to try the accordion. Or maybe the concertina. Those bellows and buttons look like fun---and you don't have to tune them all the time!
Get a stick, and you can start learning on a good sized hardback book.
If it doesn't start to sound good, don't waste your money on a bodhran.
That's how Peadar Mercer started his pupils, even Mel apparently.
To BrotherStorm,
I don't know whats with the attacks on bodhran players either. The original poster doesn't even have one yet and he's still jumped on. LOL. He's just asking a few honest questions.
Thanks for the link, that was awesome. Very very nice drumming. It doesn't get any better than that.
Hey TBI, before anyone *else* (duh) gives you that makers page link again, again - begorra begorra you might like to have a wee look at this video - "Learning the Bodhran": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SuWs3n-pNu4
To Rocky,
That reminds me of a story...
I was at work one day and a friend ( Cape Bretoner) brought in his fiddle. I didn't have my drum so I picked up a small plastic flat sided garbage can and used the handle of a screw driver as the tipper. I drummed to 4-5 tunes and had that thing sounding as good as a cheap drum. I've also used pizza boxes with decent success as well.
I agree with that analogy. Turning a doorknob is basically the same wrist movement as using a tipper. Just hold a pen in your hand and use the same movement.
Heh, Ptarmigan. Ah, the good old days... well .. I am not that old, but it sure feel like it! I remember when I got my first banjo. My uncle made a three-stringed tin-can one for me since all the "beginners" at the time were $500-$800 USD.
You know, sometimes I am tempted to buy one of those crappy 8" or 12" bodhrans, native hand drums or tar and sand down the skin and making a banjo out of it. Too bad I don't have access to a wood shop.
An excellent drum maker, located here in the NE of the USA, is Mance Grady. He also sells on the web, if you search Google for Ace Bodhrans or Mance Grady, you should find him. Outstanding instruments, extremely rugged.
Why bother with the expense of a bodhran? just use a good pair of spoons. Have a plastic bag full of delights such as triangle, shakey egg, cowbell, little finger cymbals or failing those just 2 coins tapping on a beer glass should do it.
Starting on the bodhran...
Starting on the bodhran...
What brand you would suggest for a beginner in Canada? What diameter should me and my friend be looking for? What sources should we be referring to if we are unable to find a teacher?
I know a lot of people suggest the O'Kane and Alfonso, but it just too expensive to import them.
# Posted on April 5th 2007 by TheBloodyIrish
Re: Starting on the bodhran...
Michael! Down boy!
# Posted on April 5th 2007 by Alf Tupper
Re: Starting on the bodhran...
Here's a list of makers & suppliers , including some in Canada:
http://www.ceolas.org/instruments/bodhran/makers.shtml
# Posted on April 5th 2007 by Ptarmigan
Re: Starting on the bodhran...
Now, dont jump to conclusions there Danny, maybe michael will leave him alone and decline to comment on this topic.
Well..... it could happen..... couldnt it??
# Posted on April 5th 2007 by session savage
Re: Starting on the bodhran...
I don't think Michael would really mind as long as the bodhran stays in Canada.
# Posted on April 5th 2007 by Johannes J
Re: Starting on the bodhran...
Starting on the bodhran?
Idiotic choice
Lazy
Low self esteem
You have zero ambition
Incidently,
did you really
intend a discussion
on bodhrans
to not have
such a reply?
# Posted on April 5th 2007 by llig leahcim
Re: Starting on the bodhran...
Well that answers that!
Perhaps Michael they just like the sound of the Bodhran. Maybe they are also already a fiddle virtuoso and want to branch out.
Why should someone starting a bodhran thread not expect the same civility as found in other threads.
I do like your attempt at using verse though - although your message spelt along the side is a little bit rude!
# Posted on April 5th 2007 by No Cause For Alarm
Re: Starting on the bodhran...
At least I am asking where to start, unlike most of the bodhran players! Don't suggest a penknife either. It's either the bodhran or a $1000 button accordion.
# Posted on April 5th 2007 by TheBloodyIrish
Re: Starting on the bodhran...
How about a $2 tin whistle ye bloody eedjit
# Posted on April 5th 2007 by llig leahcim
Re: Starting on the bodhran...
Eh? currency converter today says:
1,000.00 Canadian dollars = 436.68 British pounds sterling
Tell me where you can get a good box for that money?
Canada, obviously.
# Posted on April 5th 2007 by Alf Tupper
Re: Starting on the bodhran...
I am not as anti-drum as Michael, but if you must choose between the drum and the accordion, go with the accordion. More challenging initially, but in the long run, I think you will find it a lot more satisfying.
If you MUST get a drum, I would suggest 18 inch diameter and tunable.
# Posted on April 5th 2007 by AlBrown
Re: Starting on the bodhran...
6 replies and only 1 with any help. Well done. Please, If you have nothing good to say, say nothing.
Back tothe original questions...
Brand ( for the most part) doesn't matter a whole lot for a beginner neither does size to a certain extent.
Bridget and CJ Dixon ( both Canadian) make some nice drums if your going new and want to stay Canadian. Look around locally to see if you can find something used.
16x6 tunable is the consensus for the best size. But again for a beginner that may not be the most important. 18x4 is the most common entry level sized drums.
For lessons, if you can't find an instructor, search bodhran on you tube. I frequented this site quite often. They have slow motion videos.
http://www.percuweb.ca/en/documentation/areas/europe/bodhran_lesson.html
Good luck
Ken
# Posted on April 5th 2007 by salmoncove
Re: Starting on the bodhran...
Who TF are you?
I've got a brendan white. you might find a canadian supplier in this list:
http://www.ceolas.org/instruments/bodhran/vendors.shtml
# Posted on April 5th 2007 by Alf Tupper
Re: Starting on the bodhran...
The lowest I have seen for an decent-sounding accordion is around a thousand. There are some that go as low as $200 and $300 by Milan and other such companies -- but I loathe the sound.
Now, this is not my first instrument...I already play the banjo, guitar and bass. Wind instruments just annoy the hell out of me, and I used to play a fretless banjo, but since my hearing declined in the past few years... I had to go with a fretted.
# Posted on April 5th 2007 by TheBloodyIrish
Re: Starting on the bodhran...
Hi,
I suggest you pass by:
http://www.bodojo.com/
There you'll find a lot of usefull stuff.
Good luck,
Moritz
BTW: Why the hell is all the world hammering on bodhran players?
Listen to the following:
http://www.irishtrad.de/mp3/murray.mp3
That's playing! (Eamon Murray and Seamus Egan)
# Posted on April 5th 2007 by brotherstorm
Re: Starting on the bodhran...
I'd go for the accordion. After I learn how to play this fiddle of mine (in about 20 years), I want to try the accordion. Or maybe the concertina. Those bellows and buttons look like fun---and you don't have to tune them all the time!
# Posted on April 5th 2007 by kennedy
Re: Starting on the bodhran...
Get a stick, and you can start learning on a good sized hardback book.
If it doesn't start to sound good, don't waste your money on a bodhran.
That's how Peadar Mercer started his pupils, even Mel apparently.
# Posted on April 5th 2007 by RockyRoader
Re: Starting on the bodhran...
To BrotherStorm,
I don't know whats with the attacks on bodhran players either. The original poster doesn't even have one yet and he's still jumped on. LOL. He's just asking a few honest questions.
Thanks for the link, that was awesome. Very very nice drumming. It doesn't get any better than that.
Ken
# Posted on April 5th 2007 by salmoncove
Re: Starting on the bodhran...
Hey TBI, before anyone *else* (duh) gives you that makers page link again, again - begorra begorra
you might like to have a wee look at this video - "Learning the Bodhran":
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SuWs3n-pNu4
# Posted on April 5th 2007 by Ptarmigan
Re: Starting on the bodhran...
To Rocky,
That reminds me of a story...
I was at work one day and a friend ( Cape Bretoner) brought in his fiddle. I didn't have my drum so I picked up a small plastic flat sided garbage can and used the handle of a screw driver as the tipper. I drummed to 4-5 tunes and had that thing sounding as good as a cheap drum. I've also used pizza boxes with decent success as well.
Ken
# Posted on April 5th 2007 by salmoncove
Re: Starting on the bodhran...
Thats a Bridget drum in that You Tube video...
http://www.bridgetdrums.com/69379.html
Ken
# Posted on April 5th 2007 by salmoncove
Re: Starting on the bodhran...
Heh, the maker list is useless to me actually. I don't know what the quality of each of those drums are. So, I am looking for alternative.
Now, one guy on another forum said that I should be turning doorknobs before I play with a cipin... weird.
# Posted on April 5th 2007 by TheBloodyIrish
Re: Starting on the bodhran...
I agree with that analogy. Turning a doorknob is basically the same wrist movement as using a tipper. Just hold a pen in your hand and use the same movement.
Good luck
Ken
# Posted on April 5th 2007 by salmoncove
Re: Starting on the bodhran...
Hey, don't bother using Ken's old *Garbage Can Lid*- this is the perfect answer for your quest TBI:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zqjrEOorJKg
# Posted on April 5th 2007 by Ptarmigan
Re: Starting on the bodhran...
There ya go!!! Nice vid.
He needs to wet that box down a little though for a deeper sound. LOL
Ken
# Posted on April 5th 2007 by salmoncove
Re: Starting on the bodhran...
Heh, Ptarmigan. Ah, the good old days... well .. I am not that old, but it sure feel like it! I remember when I got my first banjo. My uncle made a three-stringed tin-can one for me since all the "beginners" at the time were $500-$800 USD.
You know, sometimes I am tempted to buy one of those crappy 8" or 12" bodhrans, native hand drums or tar and sand down the skin and making a banjo out of it. Too bad I don't have access to a wood shop.
Just my 2 cent on "homemade" or DIY instruments.
# Posted on April 5th 2007 by TheBloodyIrish
Re: Starting on the bodhran...
An excellent drum maker, located here in the NE of the USA, is Mance Grady. He also sells on the web, if you search Google for Ace Bodhrans or Mance Grady, you should find him. Outstanding instruments, extremely rugged.
# Posted on April 5th 2007 by AlBrown
Re: Starting on the bodhran...
Why bother with the expense of a bodhran? just use a good pair of spoons. Have a plastic bag full of delights such as triangle, shakey egg, cowbell, little finger cymbals or failing those just 2 coins tapping on a beer glass should do it.
# Posted on April 5th 2007 by Fiddlebabe
Re: Starting on the bodhran...
".... a plastic bag full of delights .." - Ah, I remember them well from my school days, the good old - *Lucky Bag*!
# Posted on April 5th 2007 by Ptarmigan
Re: Starting on the bodhran...
brotherstorm -- does that Eamon Murray/Seamus Egan clip come off of any album? That's amazing stuff and I'd love to hear the rest of it!
# Posted on April 5th 2007 by Crysania
Re: Starting on the bodhran...
The sound clip doesn't work on my computer. Windows Media Player just says it does not support the codec used. Any ideas?
# Posted on April 5th 2007 by No Cause For Alarm
Re: Starting on the bodhran...
Ah I saved it and then opened it up in Real Player - works fine.
# Posted on April 5th 2007 by No Cause For Alarm
Re: Starting on the bodhran...
Brotherstorm, everyone missed your delightful little (accidental, I think) pun on Bodhran players!
# Posted on April 6th 2007 by kjay_bc_box
Re: Starting on the bodhran...
Try this...
With reference to that old "session goat" thread:
You Are What You Beat
# Posted on April 6th 2007 by Alf Tupper
Re: Starting on the bodhran...
(just wish I'd thought it up at the time....)
# Posted on April 6th 2007 by Alf Tupper
Re: Starting on the bodhran...
Hi,
got the mp3 from a post on the forum www.bodhran.de
Whish there was more of it available too.
# Posted on April 7th 2007 by brotherstorm