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The Bodhrán (bow-ran) is an Irish drum : its name comes from the Gaelic word bódhradh meaning « making deaf »…
Its origins are uncertain but it could have begun its existence by extracting peat or more probably like a sieve.
It can be compared to the daf in Iran or the bendir in North Africa.
It is composed by a single goat skin, tightened on a wooden circular frame, held by a wooden cross or single bar (those ones could be missing on modern bodhrán).
The sound is made by a stick with rounded ends that hit and bounce off the skin.
The hand that holds the instrument can also make vary the tension of the skin to change the sound.
The Bodhrán
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