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Re: 1860 Minstrel Group Question
There isn't even agreement on where the word bodhran came from, let alone when one was first widely used. From Wikipedia:
"Third-generation bodhrán maker Caramel Tobin asserts that the name bodhrán means "skin tray"; he also suggests a link with the Irish word bodhor, meaning soft, or dull sounding.[3] Another theory asserts its name is derived from the similar Irish word bodhar, meaning deaf. A relatively new introduction to Irish music, the bodhrán has largely replaced the role of the tambourine, suggesting another possible origin for bodhrán's name from the abbreviation "'bourine".
Personally I'd lean towards the "bourine" theory, and the 1950's origin. The instrument (tambourine) probably reached Ireland with Dan Emmett's tour, along with the banjo. "Tambourine" by the way comes from the diminutive of the French word for drum, "tambour".
Unsubstantiated statements I've read that bodhrans were used to lead Ancient celtic troops into battle, or in the 1603 Rebellion, cannot be believed by anyone who has tried to play a bodhran, or even a large tambo, outdoors. They carry maybe 30-50 feet max on a dry day.
What saddens me is with the bodhran's fairly recent introduction into historical Celtic music (much of which shockingly actually has as much of its roots in England as in the other Isles, but don't tell an Irishman that), no attempt was made to reintroduce traditional historical drumming as a style, a.k.a. military rudimental drumming, as heard in the Civil War, even though this well-documented method was widely played throughout the UK and US into the 20th century, until modern bagpipe drumming replaced it in the UK.
Instead, non-historic (in Ireland) jazzy or Afro-celt styles of rythym are universally used with the bodhran today, although I think both 2/4 and 6/8 Civil War quickstep drum beats actually sound pretty cool beat out on a bodhran along with Celtic instrumental music, especially when they are some of the original historical beats that were used with the tunes.
Joe Whitney
There isn't even agreement on where the word bodhran came from, let alone when one was first widely used. From Wikipedia:
"Third-generation bodhrán maker Caramel Tobin asserts that the name bodhrán means "skin tray"; he also suggests a link with the Irish word bodhor, meaning soft, or dull sounding.[3] Another theory asserts its name is derived from the similar Irish word bodhar, meaning deaf. A relatively new introduction to Irish music, the bodhrán has largely replaced the role of the tambourine, suggesting another possible origin for bodhrán's name from the abbreviation "'bourine".
Personally I'd lean towards the "bourine" theory, and the 1950's origin. The instrument (tambourine) probably reached Ireland with Dan Emmett's tour, along with the banjo. "Tambourine" by the way comes from the diminutive of the French word for drum, "tambour".
Unsubstantiated statements I've read that bodhrans were used to lead Ancient celtic troops into battle, or in the 1603 Rebellion, cannot be believed by anyone who has tried to play a bodhran, or even a large tambo, outdoors. They carry maybe 30-50 feet max on a dry day.
What saddens me is with the bodhran's fairly recent introduction into historical Celtic music (much of which shockingly actually has as much of its roots in England as in the other Isles, but don't tell an Irishman that), no attempt was made to reintroduce traditional historical drumming as a style, a.k.a. military rudimental drumming, as heard in the Civil War, even though this well-documented method was widely played throughout the UK and US into the 20th century, until modern bagpipe drumming replaced it in the UK.
Instead, non-historic (in Ireland) jazzy or Afro-celt styles of rythym are universally used with the bodhran today, although I think both 2/4 and 6/8 Civil War quickstep drum beats actually sound pretty cool beat out on a bodhran along with Celtic instrumental music, especially when they are some of the original historical beats that were used with the tunes.
Joe Whitney
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