bodhran

American  

[baw-rahn] / ˈbɔ rɑn /

Or bodhrán

noun

1. a handheld, shallow Irish drum with a single goatskin head, played with a stick.

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bodhrán British  

/ baʊˈrɑːn, ˈboːrɑːn /

noun

1. a shallow one-sided drum popular in Irish and Scottish folk music

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Etymology

Origin of bodhran

1965–70; Irish Gaelic bodhrán, from Middle Irish bodrán, from bodar “deafening, deaf”

Example Sentences

He also busied himself with a few songs he knows on the tin whistle and thumped the bodhran on occasion.

From New York Times • Jan. 17, 2017

Flautist Jean-Michel Veillon represents the Breton strand of Celtic culture, and John Joe Kelly is a maestro of the bodhran, the traditional Irish frame drum.

From Washington Post • Mar. 12, 2015

The lush harmonies, intricate acoustic arrangements — fiddle, guitar, banjo, bodhran, whistles and more — make this far from standard fare.

From Washington Times • Nov. 24, 2014

“This combination of uilleann pipes and bodhran and the stench of Avenue B — it was something I’d never heard before.”

From New York Times • Nov. 7, 2014

The vocals are high and delicate, the melody – played on guitar and xylophone – is agile, with percussion from an Irish bodhran winding around it.

From The Guardian • Aug. 5, 2010