The bodhran is the heartbeat of Irish traditional music. A single frame, a stretched head, and a wooden tipper produce the driving pulse behind every session from Dublin to Nashville. Roosebeck bodhrans are handcrafted tunable frame drums in sheesham, mulberry, and walnut, sized from a compact 14-inch practice drum up to an 18-inch stage instrument.
Hear the Roosebeck bodhran played.
T-bar tunable system on every drum. Turn the T-bar and the internal hardware adjusts head tension evenly across the drum. You can dial in the pitch for dry studio work or loosen it up for a deep session sound.
Solid timber shells. Turned from single pieces of sheesham, mulberry, or walnut. No plywood, no laminates.
Goatskin heads. Traditional natural heads, not synthetic. They respond to humidity and touch the way a bodhran is meant to.
Sizing for every player. The 14-inch model suits children, travelers, and players who want a drier, more controlled tone. The 16-inch is the most popular session size. The 18-inch delivers the deep, booming low end preferred by stage players.
If you're new to the instrument, the 16-inch Tunable Sheesham Bodhran is our most popular and the size most sessions are built around. For a darker, warmer tonal character with a black-stained finish, the 16-inch Mulberry T-Bar in black is a strong alternative.
Larger players, or anyone who wants stage presence and low-end push, should look at the 18-inch Mulberry model. Every drum includes a tipper and a tuning key.
The bodhran is played with a double-ended wooden tipper in one hand while the other hand presses against the inside of the head to change pitch and dampen resonance. It rewards patience early and opens up rapidly with practice.
Read our beginner's guide: What is a bodhran. The tunable system lets you adapt to any room, any climate, and any style of playing.
