Whoever said that a banjo was “a thick skinned bodhrán with strings and a lot of neck” definitely hadn’t heard Gerry O’Connor - see http://comhaltas.ie/music/detail/comhaltaslive_284_1_gerry_oconnor if you’re in any doubt!
Someone must have told you a very bad banjo joke!
Its like anything else. Bad banjo is no worse than bad fiddle etc.
I was never a banjo fan coming out of the old Folkie era, where each group had a rotund smiling banjo player who played interminable fingerpicked rolling chords.
But since I seriously moved into ITM, some of the players are unbelieveable and the crispness of the tune playing is a really nice counterpoint to the relative smooth sounds of fiddles, boxes (remember operative phrase was ‘relative smoothness’ 😉 )
I’ve also heard Pat Broder in Chicago play bazouki (an instrument I really had problems with coming out of an Eastern European background) opposite pipers and it really sounds good.
Gerry’s certainly put in his 10,000 hours of practice, hasn’t he?
I’m quite proud to play a bodhran with strings!
And so is Barney McKenna and Kieran Hanrahan! Personally I feel that this instrument is a big plus in any session and adds a welcome percussive dimension to the overall sound.
This has given me an idea. Has anyone ever tried to put snares into the back of a bodhran? I suppose gut or nylon snares would be more appropriate than steel. Like a snare drum, you could have the option of turning the snares off and on with a lever. As I’m writing this I’m trying to imagine the sound and I like what I think can hear!
I meant ‘I like what I think I can hear’.
Take a snare drum brush, Joel, and hold it flat on the inside of the bodhran, with the brush not quite tight against the skin. You then have the option of moving it away (without a lever).
Thanks I’ll give it a try. Problem is I can’t play the bodhran!
bannerman--just perfect! thanks. where can i get one of these new fangled bodhráns?
This option of upgrading the humble bodhrán seems interesting. The best person to advise on this is Brian Flemming (he who designed the big Drum in 1999 - some 5 metres in diameter with a bodhrán one side and a Lambeg on the other!). I don’t know where he is these days but I do remember him at a session with a suitcase full of implements to enhance his bodhrán playing some 10 years ago. However, I would think that a more practical option would be to get lessons from an expert such as Tommy Hayes or Junior Davey on varying the tone of the instrument by use of the left hand. It’s amazing what some players can achieve in this way and it can turn a much maligned instrument into a welcome addition to any session.
“Problem is I can’t play the bodhran!”
“Problem??” Since when has that ever been a problem to possessors of bodhrans?
Bannerman: I once had a bodhran lesson with a very well respected teacher. He was great but I couldn’t get on with the drum. Whenever I try to play I end up strumming it like a guitar. Needless to say I don’t play it at the session, although I have been known to pick one up near closing time. Lucky for me not many people remember.
Steve Shaw: have you ever played with a good bodhran player? It’s lovely, especially if you’re sitting nearby. Anyway this is all getting totally off topic. I’m going to go and lurk somewhere else.
“ designed the big Drum in 1999 - some 5 metres in diameter ” Bannerman, did he also build it? How did he get it out of the building (and into the next one)? Or does it just stay outdoors? Or is it collapsible? Or…or…
Actually I don’t know what’s become of it since 2000. It was built to celebrate the new millenium and was wheeled out at most of the festivals including the St Patrick’s Day parade in Dublin, the Fleadh Nua in Ennis and Spraoí in Waterford. While I witnessed it being paraded, I never did get to hear it being played. I’m sorry Oldstrings that I can’t provide answers to your questions but would add some of my own: where is it now and has anyone heard it played or are there any recordings of it? Brian Flemming are you a Yellowboarder or is there anyone else out there who can shed some light on the subject?
Twas I who said that. (strings neck etc.)
Courtesy of Paul McNevin fiddle player,
brother of Dave McNevin(my favorite banjo player) who used to be with Stocktons Wing,
tight as a camels arse in a sand storm and back playing full time,
and he did a tutorial with Gerry O’Connor also yrs ago,
Ha Haaaaaaaaaaaa.
Nice one Peter - I only heard it 10 days or so ago at a session.
Have to agree about Dave McNevin who was playing with Stockton’s Wing at the Barbican Theatre in London the first time I saw them live back in the early nineties.
on reading just the title of this dicussion i thought you were on about a weird type of snare drum!
just tryiing to strengthen you argument!