Bohdran tipper reccommendations
Joan M Chiasson
Hello there,
I'm a novice bohdran player (very novice, it was a Christmas present), and
I'd like some suggestions about tipper length, division, anything that
might be usefull. The tipper that came with the drum is double ended, 7.5
inches long, divided into 3 inch and 4.5 inch lengths. The short section
is very good for playing fast or slow pieces, but the tipper seems to be
too short for any dependable double-ended play. It may simply be practice,
but my knuckles seem to graze the skin a lot trying to bring down the
opposite, longer end. Also, is it common to use different styles of
tippers for different music?
Joe Chiasson
(Yes, I'm French. Acadian, acutally. We're partial to everybody's music.)
barry finn
Size & type is a personal preference, I like to play something about 10" &
in the heaviest wood I can get, others consider what I play a nightstick,
but I like it, my old roommate plays/makes/designs tippers, but seems to
like longer ones thin & light, yrs back I went to a workshop of Tommy
Hayes, he had the smallest stick & got more sounds. So I guess it's try as
many as possible & eventually you'll find one that fits your style &
preference. You might go to the Bodhran Page & get a look around there.
Good Luck, Barry Finn
Joan M Chiasson <jmch...@is.dal.ca> wrote in article
<6c2ruo$evr$1...@News.Dal.Ca>...
Lawrence E Mallette
Joan M Chiasson (jmch...@is.dal.ca) wrote:
: I'm a novice bohdran player (very novice, it was a Christmas present), and
: I'd like some suggestions about tipper length, division, anything that
: might be usefull.
Some say the best tipper for a bodhran is a pen knife! YMMV.
Just joking....
From a flute player: I've seen all sizes and shapes of tippers
produce nice playing and horrible playing. And I've
seen the drum played (very well indeed) with
no tipper at all. So it's what ever works best for _you_.
And that may change as you progress. So keep and open
mind and be ready to experiment.
Stephanie Ewen
off and on for a few years, nothing too serious because of other
studies. However the best tipper I own is a broken Promark stick with
rounded ends and indentions for a grip. All of the percussion faculty
want to take it from me because it is the best one they've ever used.
My advice, try making one that fits your needs. Hope this helps. Happy
drumming, Stephanie Ewen
John A. Hickman
First a question to Stephanie, what is a Promark stick?
I've been playing a bodhran for more years than I want to remember, and
have used all manner of tippers (or cipeans, as in Irish.) I have
finally settled on one about 10 inches, long, fairly thin, with the
requisite knobs on the ends. In spite of being thin, it is
proportionately fairly heavy, being turned from a fairly dense wood,
type unknown. I find that gives me lots of flexibility in keeping a good
beat, and also in introducing percussive variations. It's just another
idea, but it works for me.
Keep the Faith
Jack Hickman
--
John A. Hickman
Personally Guided Tours of Historic Kingston
Tel: 613 546-7597 - Fax 613 546-3468
http://fox.nstn.ca/~jhickman/tours
Sean C. Morrison
Yeah, unfortunately this is one of those things where there is no set
answer.Which is a good thing, since beyond tippers, what is there to
spend money on with a bodhran? And what good is an instrument if you
can't spend money on it?
You probably got some godawful eggbeater with the drum. The worst
tippers are the ones you get with drums. Best bet is find a store or go
to a festival, and buy as many different ones as you can. A variety of
lengths, a few different woods for different weights. Don't pay more
than $10-$15 apiece so you won't feel too bad about the ones you don't
like. Then try them all. And keep them all. As your playing goes on,
you'll probably change just as often as everyone else does.
I've gone back and forth over the years, between long and short,
ball-end and blunted. In general, the shorter sticks are easier to
control (especially for a beginner), but the longer sticks give you more
variety and control.
Get a light stick! It's harder to control, but the heavier tippers will
wear you down, especially on fast tunes. And for crying out loud, lay
off the tippers with big doohickies in the middle of them. You'll never
develop good technique using them. A smooth notch or a bit of rough tape
in the middle is all you need to help with the grip.
Best thing is, no matter what tipper you use, if you work at it enough,
you'll figure out how to make work for you. That's the great thing about
folk instruments...
Nic Caciappo
What do you all recommend?
Tuneable or not?
Goatskin or not?
I am about to choose a third bodhran in four months. I have a Remo
fiberglass head (non-tuneable) and then I bought a tuneable goatskin
with all this hardware around the body. Now, I wonder if I really need a
tuneable?????
nic
barry finn
Nope, you don't need a tunable, but they are nice. Had my last drum 13 yrs
& it was (still is) great, but as it aged the weather (I'm in the
northeastern US) played it as much as I did. I always carried the heat gun
I used for work, but it was loud, I needed a power source, took awhile to
get it up to snuff then I'd have to do it again, once I came dam close to
scorching it. About a yr. ago I bought a 20" tunable from Mance Grady,
(same maker of my older drum, see Bodhran Page), the heat gun stays on he
job, the weather can blow shit for all I care now, it takes about 2 minutes
to tune, so I care less if I need to retune, no worry about burning it. The
drum I got also has a slide (handle) bar on the brace, I feel the same way
about that as I do about the being tunable, but the bar took a little more
getting used to. Good luck. Barry Finn
Nic Caciappo <nic...@earthlink.net> wrote in article
<34F0E7...@earthlink.net>...
Daniel A. Stephenson
In article <34F0E7...@earthlink.net>, nic...@earthlink.net says...
> What do you all recommend?
>
> Tuneable or not?
>
> Goatskin or not?
>
> I am about to choose a third bodhran in four months. I have a Remo
> fiberglass head (non-tuneable) and then I bought a tuneable goatskin
> with all this hardware around the body. Now, I wonder if I really need a
> tuneable?????
>
> nic
Well, my first two were tuneable, one plastic, one skin. I prefer the
skin's sound, but the plastic is more reliable. Wanting a third
(smaller) drum which wouldn't tire my left arm so much, I settled on a
nice 12" skin tacked drum, realizing I never tuned my tunables much
anyway.
The new 12" drum is a little tight in normal situations. Which means I
can wet it in dry environments to loosen it. And when it's wet out
anyway, it's perfect as is.
And on the subject of tippers, I settled one with no 'doohickey' in the
middle, with balls on the ends. The dookicky tipper was just too heavy.
A light tipper is easier to play longer, and when needed, much much
faster.
Oh, another thing, I've also seen bodhrans with a tuning 'ring' on the
_inside_ of the drum. I get the impression it's easier to adjust than
that dozen ratchets' scheme (ugh!).
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Dean Karres
In <34F0E7...@earthlink.net> Nic Caciappo <nic...@earthlink.net> writes:
>What do you all recommend?
>
>Tuneable or not?
Definately tunable especially for natural hide heads. I have played in
the high, airid plains of Colorado, the vairied humidity of the US
mid-West and under tents in rainstorms. Tunable drums are the way to
go. If the atmosphere is dry you can always add moisture [water ONLY in
my opinion] to the head but in wet conditions there is nothing like a
good tuning system even if you have a drying mechanism handy.
>Goatskin or not?
Depends. I met a gentleman in Lawrence, KS a few weeks ago who had a
tunable drum with a plastic head. It was just fine. A little boomy but
not bad at all. You can take care of many of the plastic overtones by
liberal application of duct tape or weather stripping to the inside
surface of the head -- old percussion trick. Plastic is definately
stable over all weather conditions. I may copy the system he used for
myself.
If you get a plastic head drum make sure that you play it for a bit
before you buy -- especially if it is not tunable. Otherwise you are at
the mercy of whoever made the drum for a decent sound -- whatever that
means to you.
>I am about to choose a third bodhran in four months. I have a Remo
>fiberglass head (non-tuneable) and then I bought a tuneable goatskin
>with all this hardware around the body. Now, I wonder if I really need a
>tuneable?????
Hmmm, "hardware around the body", I have been somewhat unimpressed with
the exterior tunig systems that I have seen [minus the system used by
the man in Lawrence]. I have no idea who made your drum or what it
looks like but if it is one where the tuning lugs hook over the ring at
one end and hook over the drum shell at the bottom then I encourage you
to pay close attention to the bottom "hooks" as you tighten them.
Friends of mine have drums that look sturdy but the hooks can easily be
bent out of shape [pulled straight] when tightening. Also, the ones I
have seen can "spring off" and disappear.
The last caution I can really give is that if you have a natural or
plastic head that uses an exterior tuning rim and lugs, be sure to
evaluate the tuning rim. The rims that I have seen are thin and almost
"sharp". If you do much edge work you may end up with a lap full of
splinters.
Dean...K...
--
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kar...@southwind.net |
Southwind Internet Access | Programmer / Systems Administrator
Wichita, KS | <Troll 2nd Class /w Clusters>
Dave M
>What do you all recommend?
>
>Tuneable or not?
>
>Goatskin or not?
>
>I am about to choose a third bodhran in four months. I have a Remo
>fiberglass head (non-tuneable) and then I bought a tuneable goatskin
>with all this hardware around the body. Now, I wonder if I really need a
>tuneable?????
>
>nic
That all depends on where you play.
If you are playing inside at pubs etc, a tuneable is not really
needed. A non tuneable goatskin is probably going to be your best
sound. If, however, you spend a lot of time plauing outside in
varying condidtions then a tuneable is almost mandatory.
If you do decide to go with another tuneable, try to get one that has
an internal tuning ring. They look and sound much better.
David Massengale
Three Hams on Rye
3h...@mail.myriad.net
http://personalwebs.myriad.net/3hams
Oheadhra
>Subject: Re: Bohdran tipper reccommendations
>From: mall...@bcm.tmc.edu (Lawrence E Mallette)
>Date: 15/2/98 5:49 GMT
>Message-id: <6c5vl5$j...@gazette.bcm.tmc.edu
Contact Eoin Leonard at Belgarth Bodhrans through web site link
www.sonicstate.com/anam
Great sticks and bodhrans!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Conrad Jay Bladey
Best Bodhran Tipper's In the world!
Mauri Hardwood tippers
Each is hand made out of hard wood with the
extrordinary feature of the inclusion of
extra sharp flints in the beater end. Guranteed
to silence any pesky Bodhran war drum in seconds.
Genuine smoky obsidian surgical quality slicers
available at extra cost.
Conrad Bladey
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Conrad Jay Bladey
After long hard sessions Bodhrani often find
that their hands blister crack and bleed. This
blood is referred to as....
Tipper Gore
(AKA Vice President Gore's Wife)
Conrad Bladey
--
BodhranOne
In POWER BODHRAN TECHNIQUES, A New Approach to the Celtic Hand Drum, I discuss
and demonstrate various innovative techniques with the straight notched tipper
and the off-center balanced tri-knob tipper. I have special uses for each which
allow for speed, and volume without undue wer and tear on the players
wrist.....
Direct inquiries to my email address and I'll send mail order pricing for the
book, the videos, instruments, etc.
Thank you
BodhranOne
I prefer the simple un-tunable drum for most playing. However, when I am going
to be in front of a few thousand people, I trust the tunable drum to deliver
better sound. Nothing like having the room's humidity sog out your head whilst
playing in front a big crowd. Or to have the lack of moisture dry the head up
so it sounds like a tin can.
I cover these issues in my book and video tape POWER BODHRAN TECHNIQUES.
Brochure and price list available. Just email me!
Bob Cameron
In article <19980311095...@ladder03.news.aol.com>,
bodhr...@aol.com (BodhranOne) wrote:
Where does one plug in a Power bodhran? Is 120 V AC, 60 hz OK?
Some of the bodhran players I've heard should use a scalpel as a tipper ;-)
darryl
Bob Cameron wrote in message ...
Why all this interest in tipper gore?;-D
Mike Reddy
>I cover these issues in my book and video tape POWER BODHRAN TECHNIQUES.
>Brochure and price list available. Just email me!
Can you please refrain from pushing this down our throats!
--
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