Gifted a Bodhrán

[u/nadventurous]

Getting into exploring and getting into playing traditional Irish music and a family member gifted this to me. Can’t find any info about it on the Walton’s website. It’s 18 inches made from goatskin and birch.

Is this meant to be played or just is it only meant decorative? Would like to find videos or information on how the sound qualities compare with different qualities of instruments m. Should I consider a higher quality one to start learning or are these a good first step?

[u/Couple_Jolly]

I'm yet to see/hear a bodhrán with designs on the skins that aren't chiefly decorative. That said, there's absolutely nothing wrong with starting out on an instrument which has a clear afterlife as a decoration (either because you upgrade to a better drum or because you find that playing the bodhrán isn't for you).

This will be fine for getting your starting techniques down - learning how to use your tone hand, how to hit with a tipper/different tippers, how hittting different parts of the head make different sounds, and learning how to double-stroke. I don't see a tipper in any of those photos, but you'll probably want to try some cheap tippers out to learn what kind you like best: broadly speaking, there's narrow tippers for top-end style (where your hand is near the top of the drum) and thicker beaters for bottom-end style (where your hand is lower down, and your forearm is at about a 90 degree angle to your upper arm). Youtube has plenty of tutorials, though bottom-end is more common, and I think most beginners find it easier to start with a thicker/heavier tipper. I really recommend Nicole Fig on youtube for starting out and learning the basics - lots of people also recommend Ruari Glasheen, but I don't think he's as helpful right at the start.

Anyway, don't want to overload you with info at the moment, so I'll leave it there. Enjoy beginning your bodhrán journey!

[u/nadventurous → u/Couple_Jolly]

Thank you for the information! Will check out the Nicole Fig videos for sure

I forgot to add the tipper photo but mine looks like this: https://www.grothmusic.com/p-32524-meinl-fdt2-ash-wood-bodhran-tipper.aspx?utm_source=googleshopping&utm_medium=cse&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=20253050307&gclid=Cj0KCQiApL7KBhC7ARIsAD2Xq3BTi-olvNtH0pK6JEZhhRY3-qm-72EnxyK-O9D56TIj-kMRTJY4OCYaAoQKEALw_wcB

[u/Couple_Jolly → u/nadventurous]

That sort of thing is really good for starting with! The bulbous ends make it easier to learn how to correctly bounce the tipper off the head.

I'm not a huge fan of McNeela (as their quality is pretty mediocre), but they do a variety of cheap tippers for reasonable prices.

https://mcneelamusic.com/bodhran-beaters-tippers

Once you've done a bit with your current beater I recommend getting a hotrod and a thin one (like a pencil tipper) to get a feel of how the thicker and thinner beaters feel and sound, and then when you know what you like you can look for something from a universally praised maker like Christian Hedwitschak or Stevie Moises.