"The Maguires at the launch of their debut album, Little Giants and Other Oxymorons at Temple Bar Tradfest in January 2017. This clip features a bodhrán solo from Seán Maguire, just 11 years of age at the time, followed by a set of reels from the band."
The instrument was totally new to me. Here are some excerpts from the Wikipedia entry:
Composer Seán Ó Riada declared the bodhrán to be the native drum of the ancient Celts (as did bodhrán maker Paraic McNeela), suggesting that it was possibly used originally for winnowing or wool dying, with a musical history that predated Christianity, native to southwest Ireland... However, according to musician Ronan Nolan, former editor of Irish Music magazine, the bodhrán evolved in the mid-19th century from the tambourine, which can be heard on some Irish music recordings dating back to the 1920s....The drum is struck either with the bare hand or with a lathe-turned piece of wood called a bone, tipper, beater, stick or cipín. Tippers were originally fashioned from a double-ended knuckle bone, but are now commonly made from ash, holly, or hickory wood......a pitch-varying technique that enabled the bodhrán player to closely follow the cadence and melodic phrasing of the tune being performed. This approach marked a significant technical advancement in bodhrán playing, shifting the instrument from a predominantly rhythmic role toward a more musically responsive one.
Much more at the link.
LOL, his sister don't seem too impressed.
ReplyDeleteDa kid is GOOD!! Lovely reel ~
ReplyDeletebobbie
I find the bodhran solo more interesting than the music that follows.
ReplyDeleteI agree. That's why I titled the piece the way I did. :-)
DeleteI wonder why he switches to the larger stick at 4:19? Fantastic video.
ReplyDeleteI hadn't noticed, but on rewatch it looks like one of the older sisters mouthed the words "keep it down" - maybe he was drowning out dad's fiddling.
DeleteOh man, in a former life I was an audio tech and ran sound at a public radio station for a lot of acoustic music. When I first encountered the bodhrán, I thought it was one of the coolest drums I'd ever heard.
ReplyDeleteFast forward to a year ago, when I finally got one and learned that I'm not that great a drummer... As an aside, there are some absolutely wonderful videos on YouTube of people building these drums, and they're mesmerizing - though partially because most of the craftspeople are ancient Irish guys with impressive beards.