I've played the bodhran for a good many months now, and I really want to know if the skin should slacken due to pounding on the drum. I play a small 10 inch I got from a riverdance concert (probebly poorly made), it's work fairly well and I ordered a new drum and it should be here in about 4 days. I Play it in my room which is kept at al times of the day nice and cool. It never gets hot and humid so the skin shouldn't be slacking, but it does. I don't play that hard. Please give me an insite if it's just poor manufacturing or natural causes.
Takeing pictures:
Do you know how piano players put roses or just flower petals on the keys to take picture of their piano. I have the same Idea for the bodhran but with clovers. I picked a good many out front the other day and brought them inside. I sprinkled them over and when I took pictures it just looked like I got peices of durt all over it. Can anyone recemend a better way. I want to look like a real professional
Thank you
-Heartbeat
(P.S. I just joined I didn't really know where to put this.)
Hi Keith, not sure what happened to my other post...
I'll assume that you're for real, as I've looked through the YouTube videos that you mentioned in your profile. The reason that it has to be an assumption is that this thread is worded in such a way that it appears like a "windup" thread, crafted specifically to get people on this forum riled up.
You are going to get quite a number of snarky comments from folks. As a bodhrán player, you are probably fully aware that the bodhrán is sneered at to some extent in traditional circles. (If you're not aware of that, this thread will certainly help bring that point home ) Combine that with the fact that Riverdance is also widely maligned in by traditional musicians, and your thread here is likely to blow up into a large discussion, full of not so nice comments...
So welcome. I hope you have a thick skin (pun intended), and good luck with your interactions on this forum...
And if it *is* a windup thread, then bravo! Well done!
You're surely not going to take suggestive pictures of the bodhran with petals or clovers, like that movie poster a few years back? That would certainly be an insult to the true heartbeat of Irish Traditional Music, and would likely upset a lot of the contributors here!
It's a windup obviously. Slackening skin and taking pictures parodies threads about whether or not sessions should be photographed. The actual post is incredibly far-fetched and the spelling mistakes are too carefully spelt. I broke my a**e laughing . Well done.
Well I'm a just bursting with new idea for the bodhran. I rally love playing it! I just wanted to get a good loking pictures of the bodhran. People put flowers petals on the piano from love ballads! The bodhran is an irish drum clovers I always thaught was irish! So I thaught it be a great idea. Guees I was wrong. And bodhran players might be thaught as bad but I don't care. And by the way I'm talking abvout a BODHRAN not the you know what! If there would be a way change the name of this thread or deleate it I would now that people have to act all disgusting. Ok maybe I really do need to have a shell. People are just real inconsiterit (sp?) You want to act like an a-hole well then do it, but just do it somewhere else. I guees I should have giving a different title for the dicussion but by god! If it's sometihng else you were tihnking of then go away!!!!
Perhaps a whole Harvest Festival would look good: Carrots, cabbage, spuds, tins of baked beans, sheaves of wheat, beetroot and marrows.
Or you could go Caribbean with callaloo, yams and gungo peas, curried goat, dumplings, Guinees punch.
Then there's Sri Lankan: blue crab, chillies, pittu, bonda, veechu roti, coconut chutney, nettalie.
A Kew Gardens theme may be appropriate: palm trees, the victoria water lilly, a pagoda, a lake full of koi.
Silver spaceship, Xpelaire fan, the Sahara, Swafega, Y-fronts, South Georgia, knife & fork, an Iron Maiden vinyl LP, a comemorative Diana Spencer mug, two pints of cockles, earwax, earwigs, rain on the roof of the Taj Mahal...
Nah, spinich leaves don't look like clovers. I meant like a three leaf clover. The shamrock, the symbol of Ireland. I'm just thinking a Placeing the bodhran, the pair of spoons I have, and the tippers I have for my bodhran all to a single colored back round looked really stupid. I wanted to really show the culture behind all of the instruments. The bodhran is irish, the spoons are a set I got up while in canada, but you get irish spoons. Still I thought the ideas like pteals on the piano but with a few shamrocks / clovers would be a good idea. I might just stick with the plain backround.
Does anyone know what the problem is with the skin on my bodhran. I just don't think it's the heat. It was only 50 bucks at the concert.
(And I al ready ask the creator of the a question on deleating this dicussion if he can. So I'm going to ask if this discussion will stop. I don't like people who have to be like the posters above. It sickens me people have to do that. To take pleasure in putting people down. It's no wonder people only cower now adays, we don't stand up to people who do that. If you have nothing that in the same subject about the skin on my bodhran slackening and the idea I had for the clovers then just leave!!! It's just ticking me off! Please will this become in active and be deleated!
Heartbeat, what happened to you is that you were inspired by a single event, Riverdance, which most of us here with more experience than you look down on as a slick commercial warping of the things we love so dear.
Therefore there will be some taking of the urine ! Also for your poor grammar and spelling ( sorry, but that's how we mainly are, educated, intelligent, and opinionated ).
I suggest that you keep your mouth firmly sealed re your previous activities, visit a few sessions without any instruments in your hands, sit quietly in a corner, and listen and watch to what goes on.
PS any event involving microphones is NOT a session.
Good Luck.
In a few years time you will come to see your naivety of the moment, and we will try not to berate you for it. Youthful enthusiasm is a wonderful thing, try not to loose it amongst all us old dodderers.
And I thought that all of the creative souls had quit posting!! Out in the dusty desert landscape of 'name this tune' and YouTube links: a glimmering oasis of hilarity.
As an ex bookmaker for Ladbrooks ( for none UK and Eire residents it means I used to run a legal gambling shop )
I would be willing to offer odds that heartbeat is a known person on this mustard board.
but who ...........
evens - a well known Auld reekie fiddle player
2/1 a northern grouse
5/1 a happy drummer
50/1 recent antipidien doctor
Well - I suppose if you put the bodhran skin down and filled it with a good compost, say John Innes no.2, you could probably use it for growing veg - but remember it's not very deep, so you might need to put some holes in the skin, both to allow it to drain, and also to encourage root growth from such things as carrots, turnips etc.
P.S. Does this Riverdance thingy have something to do with ITM?
Heartbeat,dont mess around with clovers,composts and all the other vegies mentioned...
Nick on over to Amsterdam and get yer self an ounce of the real stuff...
Then again,your post suggests that maybe you already have....
Wind up artists....they're a funny lot innit.
Heartbeat, don't let yourself be put down by people on this board. To be a good player on the bodhran is a noble aim. I am thinking of taking it up myself. Can you suggest any easy songs I could learn?
Went to have a look at his youtube stuff, clicked various videos, nothing happened. Went away and came back to find two of hearbeat's videos and two of the other tutorials pointed to all running at the same time.
Don't lose heart. Keep playing. I looked at your videos. You are obviously putting some sincere effort into your learning.
Some people feel better about themselves by making fun of others who seem like an easy target. Others think that making fun others is good fun and very humorous. Don't mind them. Everyone starts somewhere. I think it would be a sad day if people stopped learning how to play music because of all the discouragement accomplished musicians like to dish out to beginners.
Heartbeat - you really need to get a real bodhran if you want to be taken seriously, though you seem to have some ability.
What you have there is a souvenir replica of a bodhran, not really meant to be played, rather meant to be hung an the wall as a memento.
Half the fun of learning any skill is being degraded by older, jaded members of that skill's community. I, for one, have learned to appreciate the friendly advice hidden amongst the cruel cynicism. I have also learned to quietly watch and learn before making an ass of myself.
And on a tactful note, I would recommend getting a bodhran geared more towards playing as apposed to display. You should be able to find a relatively inexpensive one at your local music shop. Even a cheap Pakistani made bodhran will get you further than a souvenir version. And buck up, no one here means any real harm, it's all in good fun!
Lulz! Nice trolling, Heartbeat, well played sir or madam.
"In Internet slang, a troll is someone who posts controversial, inflammatory, irrelevant, or off-topic messages in an online community, such as an online discussion forum or chat room, with the primary intent of provoking other users into an emotional response[1] or to generally disrupt normal on-topic discussion."
So what's the name for an ingenue who doesn't realize what he's been asking for ?
I think the videos make the point quite succinctly. Here's a young person with the technical nous to put his little videos on the web, but doesn't realize his lack of musical sophistication.
I have some small sympathy; I hope the advice I gave earlier is taken to heart; I have, in my time, been guilty of a lack of sophistication and an over-enthusiasm. One can grow out of it in 40 years or so......
Not only the above but the lad has a tipper from hell, a drum from the same place and he can actually play. Why don't yer pick on someone your own size. With a bit of luck in avoiding slaggers he may develop a great love for the tunes.
It appears that Heartbeat is a genuine poster,it surely seemed like a session.org wind-up to me...
I apologise to you Heartbeat and I eat the Humble Pie.
Guys...this kid is getting his mind wrapped around Trad. That is a step in the right direction. Think of the bodhrán as his "gateway" instrument.
OK...Heartbeat...I actually saw your Youtube clips before I saw you on this forum. Maith an fear thu (roughly "Your a good man" in Irish)....You've found an instrument that captivates you and you are persuing it the best you know how. Go for it! Beat that goat skin to your hearts content!!
You actually ask 2 questions above and I'll try to answer both of them for you. Understand that I am a fairly poor bodhrán player (there's an Irish word for one who plays the bodhrán but I can't recall it....hold on for the crude jokes that this last statement will inspire) but I'll tell you what little I've learned.
First, you have been advised correctly by the well meaning souls above. Your bodhrán is not really intended for playing. Don't feel bad, I bought a similar bodhrán when I was in Ireland. Had I known then what I know now, I'd have left it on the shelf. You will eventually want to upgrade to a real quality instrument. This link will point you in the right direction.
Your instrument will naturally tighten and loosen as the atmosphere changes. It doesn't take much in the way of humidity to alter the tension on your drum. Some of the higher end (and more expensive) versions allow you to adjust the frame in order to compensate for this.
With regard to the photos:
This is a bit trickier. First, you'll probably need to investigate a higher end digital camera. If you or your parents have a Single Lense Reflex (SLR) digital camera (that's the kind where you change lenses) you're in good shape. If not, see if you can borrow the best point-and-shoot digital camera you can find.
Lighting is the key to getting the shot you want. If you want to avoid the confusion and trial and error of improvised lighting (it's a pain if you don't know what you're trying to accomplish) I would suggest the following:
Get your clovers as you did before. Bring them in the house and wash them gently under cold water. This will remove most of the dirt and the small water droplets will capture some light for you. Don't worry about getting water on your goat skin...it's a goat skin...trust me, the original owner of the skin has put far worse that water on it!!
Be sure that you do all of this about an hour before sunset. This is the time that photographers call "The Golden Hour" because the light is soft and carries a golden hue to it. Set your drum out in the yard amongst the clovers and sprinkle your cleaned clovers on top. Not too many or it'll just look like you've buried your drum!!
Next is the tricky part. Find out how to set your f-stop on your camera. The f-stop will allow you to focus only on the drum and leave everything else in the background sort of blurry. This will draw people visually to the drum and not the speck of dirt behind or beside it. Set your f-stop to somewhere between 2.8 and 5.6. Most cameras will make the appropriate adjustments in shutter speed automatically. Take a couple of pictures at each setting from 2.8 up to 5.6 and see which one you like best. With a little practice, you'll get the image you want.
Have a blast with the camera (I'm a camera geek...can you tell?) and more importantly...have a blast with the drum!!! Oh..and if you've got the desire, explore the Irish language as well as the music. One complements the other!
I hope your new bodhran is tune-able. The best bodhrans now have finger tuners and the use of a hex wrench is not needed. Most players use 14 to 18 inch diameter bodhrans. When first purchased, the skin is usually dry and tight. You have to play it in for a few weeks. Dampness will loosen a goatskin head and heat will tighten it. Many of the bodhrans sold currently have Lambeg heads or goatskin that has been conditioned by the bodhran makers. Many have their own trade secrets about uses of conditioners and oils. If you use conditioners and oils yourself, do it carefully and sparingly.
There is a new website devoted exclusively to the bodhran called Bodojo.com.
I sure hope Heartbeat is not scared off. I did PM him. Hopefully he's found some friendly souls at bodojo there, far away from us grouchy and quick to assume wind-up melody players.
Slackening Skin and Takeing Pictures!
Slackening Skin and Takeing Pictures!
Slacking Skin
I've played the bodhran for a good many months now, and I really want to know if the skin should slacken due to pounding on the drum. I play a small 10 inch I got from a riverdance concert (probebly poorly made), it's work fairly well and I ordered a new drum and it should be here in about 4 days. I Play it in my room which is kept at al times of the day nice and cool. It never gets hot and humid so the skin shouldn't be slacking, but it does. I don't play that hard. Please give me an insite if it's just poor manufacturing or natural causes.
Takeing pictures:
Do you know how piano players put roses or just flower petals on the keys to take picture of their piano. I have the same Idea for the bodhran but with clovers. I picked a good many out front the other day and brought them inside. I sprinkled them over and when I took pictures it just looked like I got peices of durt all over it. Can anyone recemend a better way. I want to look like a real professional
Thank you
-Heartbeat
(P.S. I just joined I didn't really know where to put this.)
# Posted on July 6th 2009 by Heartbeat
Re: Slackening Skin and Takeing Pictures!
Liverdance certainly has a lot to answer for!
# Posted on July 6th 2009 by amhrán
Re: Slackening Skin and Takeing Pictures!
Geez, Slakening Skin and Pictures. I thought maybe someone saw my latest portrait
(glad they didn't)
Mary
# Posted on July 6th 2009 by Antikhntr
Re: Slackening Skin and Takeing Pictures!
How time flies. Is it April1st again already?
# Posted on July 6th 2009 by DaveL35
Re: Slackening Skin and Takeing Pictures!
Why not try watercress for taking pictures.? It's a bit like clover but bigger.
# Posted on July 6th 2009 by greg n'sheils
Re: Slackening Skin and Takeing Pictures!
Hi Keith,
You are going to get
# Posted on July 6th 2009 by Reverend
Re: Slackening Skin and Takeing Pictures!
I'm writing to Bill Whelan now. I think this poor lad Heartbeat has a strong case for damages.
# Posted on July 6th 2009 by Floss the Tethers
Re: Slackening Skin and Takeing Pictures!
Hi Keith, not sure what happened to my other post...
I'll assume that you're for real, as I've looked through the YouTube videos that you mentioned in your profile. The reason that it has to be an assumption is that this thread is worded in such a way that it appears like a "windup" thread, crafted specifically to get people on this forum riled up.
You are going to get quite a number of snarky comments from folks. As a bodhrán player, you are probably fully aware that the bodhrán is sneered at to some extent in traditional circles. (If you're not aware of that, this thread will certainly help bring that point home
) Combine that with the fact that Riverdance is also widely maligned in by traditional musicians, and your thread here is likely to blow up into a large discussion, full of not so nice comments...
So welcome. I hope you have a thick skin (pun intended), and good luck with your interactions on this forum...
And if it *is* a windup thread, then bravo! Well done!
# Posted on July 6th 2009 by Reverend
Re: Slackening Skin and Takeing Pictures!
You're surely not going to take suggestive pictures of the bodhran with petals or clovers, like that movie poster a few years back? That would certainly be an insult to the true heartbeat of Irish Traditional Music, and would likely upset a lot of the contributors here!
# Posted on July 6th 2009 by grego
Re: Slackening Skin and Takeing Pictures!
It's a windup obviously. Slackening skin and taking pictures parodies threads about whether or not sessions should be photographed. The actual post is incredibly far-fetched and the spelling mistakes are too carefully spelt. I broke my a**e laughing . Well done.
# Posted on July 6th 2009 by Quinno
Re: Slackening Skin and Takeing Pictures!
Well I'm a just bursting with new idea for the bodhran. I rally love playing it! I just wanted to get a good loking pictures of the bodhran. People put flowers petals on the piano from love ballads! The bodhran is an irish drum clovers I always thaught was irish! So I thaught it be a great idea. Guees I was wrong. And bodhran players might be thaught as bad but I don't care. And by the way I'm talking abvout a BODHRAN not the you know what! If there would be a way change the name of this thread or deleate it I would now that people have to act all disgusting. Ok maybe I really do need to have a shell. People are just real inconsiterit (sp?) You want to act like an a-hole well then do it, but just do it somewhere else. I guees I should have giving a different title for the dicussion but by god! If it's sometihng else you were tihnking of then go away!!!!
# Posted on July 6th 2009 by Heartbeat
Re: Slackening Skin and Takeing Pictures!
Would they be clovers that looik a bit like shamrock?
# Posted on July 6th 2009 by greg n'sheils
Re: Slackening Skin and Takeing Pictures!
yes, But the clovers I got from my front yard are really small, So I might try water cress as someone mentioned.
# Posted on July 6th 2009 by Heartbeat
Re: Slackening Skin and Takeing Pictures!
Or maybe spinach?
# Posted on July 6th 2009 by greg n'sheils
Re: Slackening Skin and Takeing Pictures!
Perhaps a whole Harvest Festival would look good: Carrots, cabbage, spuds, tins of baked beans, sheaves of wheat, beetroot and marrows.
Or you could go Caribbean with callaloo, yams and gungo peas, curried goat, dumplings, Guinees punch.
Then there's Sri Lankan: blue crab, chillies, pittu, bonda, veechu roti, coconut chutney, nettalie.
A Kew Gardens theme may be appropriate: palm trees, the victoria water lilly, a pagoda, a lake full of koi.
Silver spaceship, Xpelaire fan, the Sahara, Swafega, Y-fronts, South Georgia, knife & fork, an Iron Maiden vinyl LP, a comemorative Diana Spencer mug, two pints of cockles, earwax, earwigs, rain on the roof of the Taj Mahal...
# Posted on July 6th 2009 by Krick Stahlschwanz
Re: Slackening Skin and Takeing Pictures!
Nah, spinich leaves don't look like clovers. I meant like a three leaf clover. The shamrock, the symbol of Ireland. I'm just thinking a Placeing the bodhran, the pair of spoons I have, and the tippers I have for my bodhran all to a single colored back round looked really stupid. I wanted to really show the culture behind all of the instruments. The bodhran is irish, the spoons are a set I got up while in canada, but you get irish spoons. Still I thought the ideas like pteals on the piano but with a few shamrocks / clovers would be a good idea. I might just stick with the plain backround.
Does anyone know what the problem is with the skin on my bodhran. I just don't think it's the heat. It was only 50 bucks at the concert.
(And I al ready ask the creator of the a question on deleating this dicussion if he can. So I'm going to ask if this discussion will stop. I don't like people who have to be like the posters above. It sickens me people have to do that. To take pleasure in putting people down. It's no wonder people only cower now adays, we don't stand up to people who do that. If you have nothing that in the same subject about the skin on my bodhran slackening and the idea I had for the clovers then just leave!!! It's just ticking me off! Please will this become in active and be deleated!
# Posted on July 6th 2009 by Heartbeat
Re: Slackening Skin and Takeing Pictures!
Heartbeat, what happened to you is that you were inspired by a single event, Riverdance, which most of us here with more experience than you look down on as a slick commercial warping of the things we love so dear.
Therefore there will be some taking of the urine ! Also for your poor grammar and spelling ( sorry, but that's how we mainly are, educated, intelligent, and opinionated ).
I suggest that you keep your mouth firmly sealed re your previous activities, visit a few sessions without any instruments in your hands, sit quietly in a corner, and listen and watch to what goes on.
PS any event involving microphones is NOT a session.
Good Luck.
In a few years time you will come to see your naivety of the moment, and we will try not to berate you for it. Youthful enthusiasm is a wonderful thing, try not to loose it amongst all us old dodderers.
# Posted on July 6th 2009 by Guernsey Pete
Re: Slackening Skin and Takeing Pictures!
And I thought that all of the creative souls had quit posting!! Out in the dusty desert landscape of 'name this tune' and YouTube links: a glimmering oasis of hilarity.
Krick: "Kew Gardens theme". *Snort*
# Posted on July 6th 2009 by Batlady
Re: Slackening Skin and Takeing Pictures!
Every time I read one of Heartbeat's posts, I hear Borat saying the words.
# Posted on July 6th 2009 by irishfiddler32
Re: Slackening Skin and Takeing Pictures!
And if this is not a windup, Heartbeat, I apologize.
However, you show a suspiciously thorough knowledge of the workings of this board for someone with such a new profile.
# Posted on July 6th 2009 by Batlady
Re: Slackening Skin and Takeing Pictures!
As an ex bookmaker for Ladbrooks ( for none UK and Eire residents it means I used to run a legal gambling shop )
I would be willing to offer odds that heartbeat is a known person on this mustard board.
but who ...........
evens - a well known Auld reekie fiddle player
2/1 a northern grouse
5/1 a happy drummer
50/1 recent antipidien doctor
Any other suggestions ?
# Posted on July 6th 2009 by bazouki dave
Re: Slackening Skin and Takeing Pictures!
Heartbeat --
Stop.
# Posted on July 6th 2009 by gam
Re: Slackening Skin and Takeing Pictures!
Heartbeat seems to have quickly removed the reference to bodhran105 (his Youtube monicker - http://www.youtube.com/user/bodhran105?as=1) from his personal details.
# Posted on July 6th 2009 by Floss the Tethers
Re: Slackening Skin and Takeing Pictures!
FtT's link speaks volumes
# Posted on July 6th 2009 by domnull
Re: Slackening Skin and Takeing Pictures!
Someone has a liiittttle too much time on his hands....
# Posted on July 6th 2009 by Batlady
Re: Slackening Skin and Takeing Pictures!
Well - I suppose if you put the bodhran skin down and filled it with a good compost, say John Innes no.2, you could probably use it for growing veg - but remember it's not very deep, so you might need to put some holes in the skin, both to allow it to drain, and also to encourage root growth from such things as carrots, turnips etc.
P.S. Does this Riverdance thingy have something to do with ITM?
# Posted on July 6th 2009 by Ebor_fiddler
Re: Slackening Skin and Takeing Pictures!
Fish emulsion or Blood N' Bone are good fertilizers. You could
grow basil or have a small herb garden.
# Posted on July 7th 2009 by Hup
Re: Slackening Skin and Takeing Pictures!
bouzouki dave - this could be another 'trad piper' incarnation
# Posted on July 7th 2009 by Hup
Re: Slackening Skin and Takeing Pictures!
Heartbeat,dont mess around with clovers,composts and all the other vegies mentioned...
Nick on over to Amsterdam and get yer self an ounce of the real stuff...
Then again,your post suggests that maybe you already have....
Wind up artists....they're a funny lot innit.
# Posted on July 7th 2009 by zoukboy
Re: Slackening Skin and Takeing Pictures!
Heartbeat, don't let yourself be put down by people on this board. To be a good player on the bodhran is a noble aim. I am thinking of taking it up myself. Can you suggest any easy songs I could learn?
# Posted on July 7th 2009 by greg n'sheils
Re: Slackening Skin and Takeing Pictures!
Went to have a look at his youtube stuff, clicked various videos, nothing happened. Went away and came back to find two of hearbeat's videos and two of the other tutorials pointed to all running at the same time.
Nightmare audio.
# Posted on July 7th 2009 by david_h
Re: Slackening Skin and Takeing Pictures!
Don't lose heart. Keep playing. I looked at your videos. You are obviously putting some sincere effort into your learning.
Some people feel better about themselves by making fun of others who seem like an easy target. Others think that making fun others is good fun and very humorous. Don't mind them. Everyone starts somewhere. I think it would be a sad day if people stopped learning how to play music because of all the discouragement accomplished musicians like to dish out to beginners.
# Posted on July 7th 2009 by abuteague
Re: Slackening Skin and Takeing Pictures!
Heartbeat - you really need to get a real bodhran if you want to be taken seriously, though you seem to have some ability.
What you have there is a souvenir replica of a bodhran, not really meant to be played, rather meant to be hung an the wall as a memento.
# Posted on July 7th 2009 by RockyRoader
Re: Slackening Skin and Takeing Pictures!
Half the fun of learning any skill is being degraded by older, jaded members of that skill's community. I, for one, have learned to appreciate the friendly advice hidden amongst the cruel cynicism. I have also learned to quietly watch and learn before making an ass of myself.
# Posted on July 7th 2009 by Cloigendragan
Re: Slackening Skin and Takeing Pictures!
Please, sir, may I have another?
# Posted on July 7th 2009 by Batlady
Re: Slackening Skin and Takeing Pictures!
And just think, some day you'll earn the right to make some eager, innocent kid cry!
# Posted on July 7th 2009 by Cloigendragan
Re: Slackening Skin and Takeing Pictures!
And on a tactful note, I would recommend getting a bodhran geared more towards playing as apposed to display. You should be able to find a relatively inexpensive one at your local music shop. Even a cheap Pakistani made bodhran will get you further than a souvenir version. And buck up, no one here means any real harm, it's all in good fun!
# Posted on July 7th 2009 by Cloigendragan
Re: Slackening Skin and Takeing Pictures!
Lulz! Nice trolling, Heartbeat, well played sir or madam.
"In Internet slang, a troll is someone who posts controversial, inflammatory, irrelevant, or off-topic messages in an online community, such as an online discussion forum or chat room, with the primary intent of provoking other users into an emotional response[1] or to generally disrupt normal on-topic discussion."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Troll_(Internet)
# Posted on July 7th 2009 by SWFL Fiddler
Re: Slackening Skin and Takeing Pictures!
So what's the name for an ingenue who doesn't realize what he's been asking for ?
I think the videos make the point quite succinctly. Here's a young person with the technical nous to put his little videos on the web, but doesn't realize his lack of musical sophistication.
I have some small sympathy; I hope the advice I gave earlier is taken to heart; I have, in my time, been guilty of a lack of sophistication and an over-enthusiasm. One can grow out of it in 40 years or so......
# Posted on July 7th 2009 by Guernsey Pete
Re: Slackening Skin and Takeing Pictures!
My bad! I see it now. Haste makes errors. I'll send the lad a PM.
Brave soul, venturing into this den of iniquity with his goat skin. Wow, he should be given a medal.
# Posted on July 7th 2009 by SWFL Fiddler
Re: Slackening Skin and Takeing Pictures!
Not only the above but the lad has a tipper from hell, a drum from the same place and he can actually play. Why don't yer pick on someone your own size. With a bit of luck in avoiding slaggers he may develop a great love for the tunes.
# Posted on July 8th 2009 by mcknowall
Re: Slackening Skin and Takeing Pictures!
BTW this prompted my discussion subject "Is this music about the music" on July 7
# Posted on July 8th 2009 by mcknowall
Re: Slackening Skin and Takeing Pictures!
It appears that Heartbeat is a genuine poster,it surely seemed like a session.org wind-up to me...
I apologise to you Heartbeat and I eat the Humble Pie.
# Posted on July 8th 2009 by zoukboy
Re: Slackening Skin and Takeing Pictures!
Guys...this kid is getting his mind wrapped around Trad. That is a step in the right direction. Think of the bodhrán as his "gateway" instrument.
OK...Heartbeat...I actually saw your Youtube clips before I saw you on this forum. Maith an fear thu (roughly "Your a good man" in Irish)....You've found an instrument that captivates you and you are persuing it the best you know how. Go for it! Beat that goat skin to your hearts content!!
You actually ask 2 questions above and I'll try to answer both of them for you. Understand that I am a fairly poor bodhrán player (there's an Irish word for one who plays the bodhrán but I can't recall it....hold on for the crude jokes that this last statement will inspire) but I'll tell you what little I've learned.
First, you have been advised correctly by the well meaning souls above. Your bodhrán is not really intended for playing. Don't feel bad, I bought a similar bodhrán when I was in Ireland. Had I known then what I know now, I'd have left it on the shelf. You will eventually want to upgrade to a real quality instrument. This link will point you in the right direction.
http://www.ceolas.org/instruments/bodhran/makers
Your instrument will naturally tighten and loosen as the atmosphere changes. It doesn't take much in the way of humidity to alter the tension on your drum. Some of the higher end (and more expensive) versions allow you to adjust the frame in order to compensate for this.
With regard to the photos:
This is a bit trickier. First, you'll probably need to investigate a higher end digital camera. If you or your parents have a Single Lense Reflex (SLR) digital camera (that's the kind where you change lenses) you're in good shape. If not, see if you can borrow the best point-and-shoot digital camera you can find.
Lighting is the key to getting the shot you want. If you want to avoid the confusion and trial and error of improvised lighting (it's a pain if you don't know what you're trying to accomplish) I would suggest the following:
Get your clovers as you did before. Bring them in the house and wash them gently under cold water. This will remove most of the dirt and the small water droplets will capture some light for you. Don't worry about getting water on your goat skin...it's a goat skin...trust me, the original owner of the skin has put far worse that water on it!!
Be sure that you do all of this about an hour before sunset. This is the time that photographers call "The Golden Hour" because the light is soft and carries a golden hue to it. Set your drum out in the yard amongst the clovers and sprinkle your cleaned clovers on top. Not too many or it'll just look like you've buried your drum!!
Next is the tricky part. Find out how to set your f-stop on your camera. The f-stop will allow you to focus only on the drum and leave everything else in the background sort of blurry. This will draw people visually to the drum and not the speck of dirt behind or beside it. Set your f-stop to somewhere between 2.8 and 5.6. Most cameras will make the appropriate adjustments in shutter speed automatically. Take a couple of pictures at each setting from 2.8 up to 5.6 and see which one you like best. With a little practice, you'll get the image you want.
Have a blast with the camera (I'm a camera geek...can you tell?) and more importantly...have a blast with the drum!!! Oh..and if you've got the desire, explore the Irish language as well as the music. One complements the other!
Le meas!
# Posted on July 8th 2009 by ceolgaelach
Re: Slackening Skin and Takeing Pictures!
I hope your new bodhran is tune-able. The best bodhrans now have finger tuners and the use of a hex wrench is not needed. Most players use 14 to 18 inch diameter bodhrans. When first purchased, the skin is usually dry and tight. You have to play it in for a few weeks. Dampness will loosen a goatskin head and heat will tighten it. Many of the bodhrans sold currently have Lambeg heads or goatskin that has been conditioned by the bodhran makers. Many have their own trade secrets about uses of conditioners and oils. If you use conditioners and oils yourself, do it carefully and sparingly.
There is a new website devoted exclusively to the bodhran called Bodojo.com.
# Posted on July 9th 2009 by Micheál
Re: Slackening Skin and Takeing Pictures!
I sure hope Heartbeat is not scared off. I did PM him. Hopefully he's found some friendly souls at bodojo there, far away from us grouchy and quick to assume wind-up melody players.
# Posted on July 9th 2009 by SWFL Fiddler