In Irish traditional music, the bodhran is a round frame drum. The majority of bodhrans are about one foot (30cm) in diameter. A skin is stretched tightly across one side of the instrument to be struck to produce sound, while the other side is left exposed so that the pitch can be changed with one’s hand. This skin was traditionally made of goat, but nowadays it is more commonly made of synthetic materials.
The instrument’s origins are a point of contention, as the first written records of a bodhran date from the early twentieth century, while many claim it dates back much further. One widely held belief about its origins is that it came to Ireland from Asia or Africa, arriving with the Celtic migrations from Europe. It was then relegated to a life as a war instrument, similar to how other war drums are used in various cultures around the world.
At harvest festivals and other celebrations, the bodhran eventually became a simple noisemaker with little or no rhythmic aspect. It wasn’t until the 1960s that the Chieftains’ Sean O’Riada began using a bodhran in traditional arrangements that it made its way into traditional Irish music. The instrument quickly gained popularity, and the 1970s, it could be found in a variety of traditional and informal musical groups.
Three different hand styles and five different stick styles are used to play the bodhran. The right hand strikes the drum’s head, while the left hand spreads across the back of the skin to modulate the resulting pitch in each of the hand styles. The striking methods, as well as which parts of the hand — knuckles, fingers, or palm — are used, and how many fingers are used, differ between hand styles.
A stick is used to make the sound in stick styles of playing. A stick can have one or two heads and can be struck straight or rolled on the drum skin’s surface. A two-headed stick is used in the most common playing style, known as Kerry style. The bottom head is used to create the tune’s rhythmic beat, while the top head is used to create ornamentations and rolls.
Given the uncertainty surrounding the instrument’s origins, the etymology of the word bodhran is a bit contested. Those who believe it has a recent history believe it is a shortening of the word tambourine to bourine, which was later changed to bodhran. The word is pronounced BOW-rawn, though different dialects pronounce it slightly differently (BORE-on, boh-RAHN, and BOH-rahn, for example). The word is thought to have originated from the Gaelic word bodhar, which means deaf or dull sounding, alluding to the instrument’s dulled sound when struck.