Lambeg Heads

Some terminological confusion exists; a “lambeg head” as I use the term, refers to an animal skin taken off a carcase and specifically chosen for size and other characteristics and then de-haired and dried according to each lambeg makers personal formulae. After further preparation it is attached to a flesh hoop and dried again, following this it is attached to the drum, tensioned and played with “canes”. There are three distinct stages to the manufacturing process and each stage imparts specific properties, all of which are critical to the heads performance, and all of this is relevant to the use and performance of these heads when used on bodhrans and other frame drums.

Stage One.
This stage covers the area of skin removal, de-hairing, fleshing and initial drying. For some lambeg makers this is critical and skins will be prepared very shortly after the animal is killed. Depending of the techniques adopted by the maker this process may take several days or even a week or two. Once dry the skin may be stored and Middle Eastern practice in this area will only used skins that have been aged. The measure here is that a skin will not be used until it is free from odour when it is “wetted back”. My general practice, where ever possible, is to follow the same course and I attempt to age skins for five years before use.
The species of the animal (for lambegs the prefered animal is goat but other animal skins have been used in the past)used for heads varies, so also do the skins vary according to the different breeds, age, gender, climatic conditions, forage, condition and general health. Kangaroo skin for example has a totally different morphology and requires specialist skills and techniques in its preparation; it also makes additional demands on musicians playing it for the first time!
Each lambeg maker and/or tanner has their own “recipe” for “hairslip” and for pH adjustment prior to drying.
It should be noted that these tannery practices are common but specific lambeg makers use their own variants based on tradition and experience. A skin prepared to this stage is not a lambeg head!!!!!!

Stage Two.
A lambeg maker attempts to “match” a pair of heads for a drum; Both heads are used in playing and must be the same in terms of pitch. At this stage the lambeg maker selects his skins and then manually prepares them to ensure that are “identical”. It is common at this stage to introduce some “chemistry” into the process, this cannot be confused with the term “doping” which is a different process. The skins are “wetted back” and “treated”, left to partially dry, and are then stretched onto the flesh hoops and dried according to local, traditional practices.
I would still not refer to skins prepare to this level as “lambeg heads” even though they are now specifically identifiable as heads intended for a lambeg drum.

Stage Three.
The heads are now attached AND tensioned for playing. Some heads are subjected to specific “treatments”-(“doping”----- short term measures designed for enhancing their immediate performance, generally in an adjudicated, drumming competition) These heads are tensioned with specially built mechanical aids and are then “sweated up” to the desired playing level. This process goes on for some time and very specialised skills are need to make sure that both heads are of equal pitch; a good lambeg head is generally working at its best when close to the point of failure!! A head which “blows out”---tears dramatically at a point of weakness-- may now be made available to a bodhran maker AND this is what is a “lambeg head”. Make no mistake, heads played under tension in a drumming competition have their structure dramatically altered and old skins, even if not blown out are used for bodhrans with differing results-some are also useless as bodhran heads as there is “no life left in them”

This is an initial attempt to clarify the issue. The term in general use is more of a marketing strategy and generally signifies that the maker has purchased a skin that has been initially prepared for the use by a lambeg maker. They are often too small for a large drum, but they may be large enough for the bodhran maker to get multiple heads from the one skin.

Sometimes the term is used for heads that have been treated by the tanner to “improve” their playability-to shorten or do away with a “bodhráns
moreso that other natural drum heads require their skin to be \'played in\'. A new
traditional bodhrán skin will almost always be too hard. A hard skin sounds \'scratchy\' and
thin. A thick head is more likely to be heavy, inflexible and scratchy to the
ear but in time and with playing it will develop.

As a
skin is being played in, it will loosen and soften. The impact of the stick on a
tensioned drum will break up the fibrous structure that binds it tightly
together and served the animal so well. With a traditional heavy-skinned bodhrán
this process may literally take years and represents a lot of time investment by
the player before s/he achieves a desired sound. It is a risk as the final
results are not guaranteed.

With a
thin or Lambeg-skinned instrument such as those made by O\'Kane, Metloef,
Bartlett and others, the playing-in process is shorter because there is so much
less fibrous material to contend with, additionally on both weights of skin
there may be natural or chemical treatments applied to soften the skin which
give a head start.

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To soften the skin of bodhran by striking it

bodhráns
moreso that other natural drum heads require their skin to be \'played in\'. A new
traditional bodhrán skin will almost always be too hard. A hard skin sounds \'scratchy\' and
thin. A thick head is more likely to be heavy, inflexible and scratchy to the
ear but in time and with playing it will develop.

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playing in” period, but more on this later.

The above is neither complete or definitive and may be altered over the course of time. I will not divulge specific recipes or practices given to me in confidence. I respect and admire the skills of the makers of these fantastic drums.

Darius Bartlett

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