Hello again Paul and thanks for the answer. I got it right regarding the solo of John. Exercise is the message here and always. Your remark about decorating the music is also something to remember and stand still by. When we start out as novices, we tend to try the solo's and triplets first instead of trying to hold a beat. Dirk De Bleser lives not too far from me and is helping me out with that. If other Belgians would want to get together it wouldn't be a bad idea to exchange experience and views on Bodhran playing. In the meantime my neighbours can enjoy a few hour of playing every day:evil: All the best to you all;
Ron

Hi Ron,

Yes you were bang on with your interpretation of the basic single end roll. Many of the rudiments and exercises on the dojo can become the basis for roll patterns when you build up speed and accuracy.

I think our role as drummers is first and foremost as musicians, Ok so our instrument is only capable of x number of sounds, a fiddle can do Y number and a whistle Z number, the sounds are all entirely different and perform different functions but no one is more or less important than the other in spite of what you may hear in Ennis or wherever the Trad police live. My mission here at bodojo is to build technical excellence and musicianship within the music, not to storm the walls.

If all we know are the fills then we are no use to the music, Cherries are nice but I'd not want to have a diet of them if you know what I mean. I'm playing drums almost 40 years, the last 25 mostly as a drummer often along with a percussionist, as a percussionist along with a drummer or as one drummer amiong many. I'm about 5 years into my bodhran journey and loving the rhythmic crossover between all the percussion styles that I have learned. I took to the bod immediately with instant double downs, I'm lucky.

Yet with all that experience I still find myself constantly needing to refresh my playing, I have oodles of hand speed and technique but it's about making the music better. If I can't add anything or make it sound better I won't play. Many session bodhran players make the mistake of thinking "ah I can hear how a drum fits in there" and wailing in, rather than thinking "that needs a drum" or even better "that doesn't need a drum, I'll just listen".

A belgian get together sounds like a great idea, even if there are only a half a dozen people, it's good to build these networks.

I'm sure yur neighbours will be delighted with your progress :)

P

Hi Tom,

Thanks for the kind words about bodojo, I'm using a system called Joomla which is a little restrictive in some ways but provides unparalleled functionality in others. It also has all kinds of cool goodies for online communities.

Hopefully we can grow this forum into a great resource to compliment the site content and our sister Yahoo group.

I'm far too old for fluffy dice in my car, but I'm expecting a mid-life crisis any time soon. If you see me riding a harley chopper with a 19 year old blonde on the back, don't stop me :) LOL

P

Paul,Tom,Ron, great subject and interesting reply Paul. It brought up one of my pet subjects, and one I too often ignore, warming up. When I play drum set, I spend a good 15 min. warming up, when I play Bodhran, I expect my wrists to start playing at regular speed immediately. If I'm doing a gig, I usually take the time to warm up somewhat, if its a session, there just doesn't seem to be the time to do it, or I don't take the time. I learned the drum in the late 70's and played regularly for 10 years. In the late 80's life circumstances pulled me away from it, and I rarely played, and never practiced. I still thought I could play and would show up at times, attempt to play and realize I had allowed my skills to deteriorate. I'm bringing that up because I think I need to warm up, and play regularly with the Bodhran more than any other percussion instrument I play. I don't know why that is, the specific tendons or muscles of the hand, I really need to stretch it out before I can play the way I want to. Paul, do you warm up? How much? How do you handle it at sessions when everybody else is starting to play and you need to warm up? I'm playing a session tonight and will make every attempt to warm up before I play. I'll let you know how it worked. Steve Brown

:) Hi again guys,
Through this forum I can relate to what you all are saying. Thanks for the last reply Paul; I too try to discover the instrument by exploring all its possibilities. I try to persuade it to tell me its secrets and will succeed.In the meantime I saw the drums of Ireland and can understand your points of view. Music is an evolution and will continue as such. I started out at seventeen visiting the folkfestival at Cambridge, sleeping in the main tents when gigs were over and I guess since the last ten years I found folk again allthough I always had a soft spot for it.In some messages I do read age related remarks. What the hell guys; I am 52, if Mick Jagger can do his stuff, so can we! I ride veteran motorcycles, play the Bodhran and make a fool of myself at Folk performances along with my wife Karen and twin daughters of 15. Life is here only once so enjoy..enjoy...enjoy! I think "old farts" like us can teach perhaps the yougsters a trick or two, just not the two hundred meter dash.I also learned that not only I have some wrist and arm trouble.Warming up is good I have been told but I found that try to make the most of a go on the drums and we tend to play too long at a firm pace! I don't do sessions (yet) but I am trying the last few weeks to force myself to play in the beat (thanks for the metronome site!).I can imagine Steve that for some-one who plays with others it must be difficult to warm up without disturbing some-one. On the other hand who would care? Last but not least I do think this site is necessary because I fould it very useful.Thanks to all and have a good week-end!
Ron

hi Steve,

warming up seems very essential to me not to get worn out by cramps. Even the best can undergo cramps: the late and beloved Paul Phillips got cramps playing a set of reels with Brain Hughes in Tubbercurry. John Joe Kelly plays with a painfull arm and wrist. So my suggestion is : do a warming up!
How? Stretch your fingers and move your wrists (!) while walking towards the session. Take your time to unpack your instruments. When you are ready skip the first set. Never start on a set of polkas or slides; take some jigs or hornpipes instead. Play half a set instead of the full one. Don't let the others push you. Stop when you get cramps and go home.
Analyse your playing. Use some finger loops. Let the drum do the main job not the arm or wrist.

Do i sin to these principles? sometimes...

kind greetings


Dirk