The Basics
Posture for Right-Handed Players
Sit upright in a chair that has no arms. Plant both of your feet on the floor such that your left leg supports the underside of the drum and your right foot is free to keep time with the rhythm of the music. Tuck the drum between your left upper arm and ribcage such that your body holds it steady and not your left hand. Keep your upper body reasonably still, except for your left hand, right hand, right wrist and right forearm, which should remain loose while you play.
Striking the Drum
Strike the drum with the stick in a 45-degree angle, moving from a position parallel to the floor to a position perpendicular to the floor. Strike the drum with the stick firmly and quickly, in a snapping or bouncing motion, such that you use the momentum of the stick to better articulate strokes.
Striking the Rim
For Reels:
Move the drum away from your body and strike the rim of the drum on the downstroke.
For Jigs:
Keep the drum close to your body and strike the rim on the upstroke.
Left Hand Techniques for Right-Handed Players
There are three basic positions for the left hand in right-handed playing:
- Open – The left hand does not touch the inside of the drum head.
- Flat – The left hand lies flat against the inside of the drum head.
- Pushed – The heel of the left hand pushes against inside of the drum head.
Up-Stroke
The downstroke is more important to the music, but the up-stroke should be strong as well.
To practice the up-stroke, to loosen your grip a bit, move your right hand a little farther away from the drum and relax on the upstroke.
The result should be a swing beat in 16th notes, practiced in four measure rounds.
Reel: 1-e-and-a-2-e-and-a-3-e-and-a-4-e-and-a (4 times)
Jig: 1-e-and-a-2-e-and-a-3-e-and-a (4 times)
Notes:
A good way to gain control of the off hand is to put something against or around the crosspoint of the crossbars such that the space between the crossbars and the back of the drum head is smaller. This allows the off hand more range of movement while still maintaining a good grip on the drum.
Another suggestion is to wear a few rings on your off hand, which adds interest to playing when the tipper strikes them through the drum head.
Finally, a good default position for the off hand is to place the heel of the hand firmly against the drum such that the backs of the fingers point toward or touch the crossbar. From there, it's easier to move the off hand on the back of the drum head to achieve various effects.
Using a Metronome and Playing with Music
Several things contribute to developing good, basic technique, and the first of these is practice with a metronome. Metronomes keep your playing steady, they help you to regularize triplets so that they don't gallop or sound uneven and they allow you to increase playing speed at a consistent pace as you improve. However, it's impossible to internalize Celtic music unless you listen to a lot of it and play along. Moreover, playing with live musicians is better than playing with recorded music, since live musicians will flex-time with one another.
Style Tip
One good way to increase the drama or emotion of a tune is to begin with a muted or dampened playing style and then open up the drum a bit as the tune progresses by releasing the off-hand pressure, which makes the drum louder.
Exercises for Tempo, 4/4 and 6/8 Time
Tempo Exercise
Play the drum:
Slowly and Quietly
Slowly and Medium
Slowly and Hard
Move gradually to:
Moderately and Quietly
Moderately and Medium
Moderately and Hard
Move gradually to:
Fast and Quietly
Fast and Medium
Fast and Hard
and back down again.
Rhythm Practice for Reels
Quarter Notes Practice:
1-2-3-4 – Downstrokes
Eighth Notes Practice:
1-and-2-and-3-and-4-and Strong downstroke, lighter upstroke
1-and-2-and-3-and-4-and Lighter downstroke, strong upstroke
Sixteenth Notes Practice (should result in a swing beat):
1-e-and-a-2-e-and-a-3-e-and-a-4-e-and-a Strong downstroke
1-e-and-a-2-e-and-a-3-e-and-a-4-e-and-a Strong “e” upstroke
The trick here is to emphasize various beats (1 & 3, 2 & 4, etc.) to produce a variety of sounds.
Rhythm Practice for Jigs
Eighth Notes Practice (Accent on beats 1 & 4):
1-2-3-4-5-6 – down-up-down-up-down-up
Sixteenth Notes Practice (should result in a swing beat):
1-e-and-2-e-and-3-e-and-4-e-and-5-e-and-6-e-and - Also in a down-up pattern
Triplets and Rolls
Getting a Roll Rolling
The best way to learn to play a roll is to play it slow, gradually increase the speed of the roll until it is as fast as you can completely control it, and then slow down again gradually. You'll get faster with practice.
Avoiding Horse's Hooves in a Roll
Bodhrán rolls can sound like the galloping of horses' hooves when you're first learning to play them. The way to practice this out of your playing is to play your rolls to a metronome such that each beat sounds like every other. Try to bury the click of your metronome in your own playing while you're practicing here.
Triplet Exercise
When working on triplets in jigs and reels, rotate where the triplet lands in the measure as you play.
Suggested Practice - An Hour of Jigs
Jig practice will be paired with tempo and triplet exercises to improve both timing in 6/8 and overall tempo skill.
Metronome Practice - 15 Minutes
Combine:
Tempo Exercise
Rhythm Practice for Jigs
Metronome Practice - 10 Minutes
Combine:
Triplet Exercise
Rhythm Practice for Jigs
Rolls - 5 Minutes
Practice Getting a Roll Rolling
Musical Practice - 1/2 Hour
Play along with 5-8 Jigs of varying speeds, slow to fast.
Suggested Practice - An Hour of Reels
Reel practice will be paired with left-hand technique and triplet exercises to improve both timing in 4/4 and left-handed technique.
Metronome Practice - 15 Minutes
Combine:
Left-hand Techniques
Rhythm Practice for Reels
Metronome Practice - 10 Minutes
Combine:
Triplet Exercise
Rhythm Practice for Reels
Rolls - 5 Minutes
Practice Getting a Roll Rolling
Musical Practice - 1/2 Hour
Play along with 5-8 Reels of varying speeds, slow to fast.