Homemade Bodhrán Frame Drum

A bodhrán and tipper from Ireland

The bodhrán is a circular wood frame drum from Ireland used in traditional Celtic music. The head of the drum is made of goatskin, which can be tuned by tightening or loosing the skin when it’s stretched across the frame. The bodhrán can be played with the bare hand, but it is more commonly struck with a special drumstick called a tipper.

Supplies

Embroidery hoop

Pencil

Arrowhead Cap Erasers

Pipe cleaners

Yarn

Paper

Decorating Supplies

Bodhráns vary in size but are usually 16’’ or 18’’ in diamater. Feel free to use any size embroidery hoop you would like. Here, we are using a 6’’ embroidery hoop for the drum frame which is a great size for children ages 3-5 to play on. You can order cheap embroidery hoops at www.createforless.com

Decorate a piece of paper with a fun Celtic design. If you are using a 6’’ embroidery hoop, print out this template and create your design inside the circle.
Separate the embroidery hoop and place the outer part on a flat surface. Take your design and fit it into the hoop, face down. Next, work the inner part of the hoop into the frame with your design sandwiched between the two parts. Once you get it in place, tighten the hoop. It is very important to keep the paper tight, but do not tear it. If the paper rips or is to loose, you will fail to produce a pitch when striking the drum!