Bodojo is a bodhran-specialist website owned and operated by Paul Marshall from the North of Ireland. The site keeps you up to date with what's happening in the world of the bodhran, gives yu a chance to discuss it and facilitates your learning journey with the noble wee drum.

The original Bodojo made up some of the earliest articles on Paul Marshall's Drumdojo site from Early 2001. The bodhran section grew so quickly that it became its own separate site 'bodhrandojo' and was quickly shortened to the popular bodojo.

The site was always popular as a store of information, articles, reviews and tutorials however there was no way to interact with the site's visitors, I tried a php forum but that quickly became overrun with spammers. In 2007 I introduced an amazing Open Source Content Management System called Joomla. This software has allowed the site to develop in content, presentation but critically has encouraged a community of users to flourish. Bodojo is no longer a set of articles, it is a broad and popular bodhran information & social network.

Bodojo is very much a member-oriented site and I try to look after our members extremely well. Whilst a non-member visit will always be worthwhile, there is a wealth of material and functions only available after registration. When you login it is a different, very relevant and very up to date site. Bodojo registration is instant, free and you will receive no spam.

Bodojo provides a wide range of functions to members

• Full access to the Bodhran Academy for information, technique, tutorials & more
• Full access to the Forums and 1000+ members who are only too keen to help
• Buy and Sell used equipment for free
• Add your videos to bodhran.TV - your bodhran video channel
• Add to the Rolodex for the bodhran world,
• A user community,
• User-contributed items & more.

I am always looking for new and better ways to get bodhran information to our members, if you have any ideas or want to help, just let me know. If something's not working, I want to know about it.

How you can get involved

• Keep a bodojo blog of your bodhran making or learning progress
• Write an Informative Article on a subject not already covered
• Write up a long discussion thread into a summary article with results
• if you have used the site and found it useful then please recommend it.
• If you have a website please link to us using the word bodhran in the link

The Paul Phillips Scholarship

The Site is dedicated to the memory of Paul Phillips, All Ireland, World and Ulster champion. Paul died suddenly in September 2007. He was a teacher as well as a player and was always very keen to support young players. It is fitting that the scholarship that bears his name should be used to benefit the next generation. The scholarship is non-profit-making of course and is run by a small committee of Paul's friends. The first awards are yet to be made.

Please support the scholarship by making a donation using the button to the left. You may also download the Tank Commanders CD that a group of his friends recorded as a fundraiser. Just use the bodojo shopping cart system to trigger the download; no money is taken, we trust you to make a donation.

Commercial aspects of the site

Bodojo is developing a 'soft' commercial side with advertising and, for now, the bodojo store both which will raise some income to help support the site. This income will meet the actual costs of running bodojo and maybe make a contribution to the time that I put into making it available and keeping it up to date.

The bodojo store is currently set up to make available a small select range of products that we know will perform in the way they are meant to and where the prices are realistic for both the customer and the maker. There are other excellent products available beyond bodojo of course.

Bodojo and its dojo family is likely to develop a retail arm at some point in the future. This will be a separate site to ensure that the mission of the main bodojo site to inform and communicate is not diluted by the overtly commercial nature of the retail site. Again, we hope to provide proven products at realistic prices.

As a self-employed person, in time it is my hope that the 'dojo' network of sites and the items we design & manufacture can become a pension plan for my old age. Yes seriously! It's more fun & less risky that playing the stockmarket and my future is much safer in the hands of bodojo and its brother sites than in any bank at the minute.  It also means I have a vested interest in keeping you, our members, very happy :)

Editorial and Opinions

Whilst community and harmony are objectives and the value of the site is the result of thoudsands of interactions with and between our many members, Bodojo remains the private property and responsibility of Paul Marshall.

The site and it's presentation may unapologetically reflect opinions, biases and positions that are those of the site owner, they may or may not conform to current wisdom.

Opinions expressed on the site or elsewhere by others may or may not reflect the opinions of Paul or bodojo.

The Finishing Bit 

Bodojo has been born out of a passion for the bodhran drum. It is a passion shared by our community and by all accounts, one that is spreading quickly around the world.

Bodojo is a 21st century bodhran resource committed to providing you with the very best in the bodhran world in terms of access, information, products and all via a blend of written, visual and interactive media.

Oh yeah and it's fun too :).

Paul

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