Plucky Strings and Peppy Percussion Strings and Percussion    

Lesson 31: Bodhrán Drum - Bodhrán Improvisation

by Hinnerk Rümenapf

Performer: Hinnerk Rümenapf

Directions

Study the musical selection for one week.

Over the week:

• Listen to the music daily.
• Recite the composer and composition names.
• Read the synopsis.
• Review the vocabulary terms.
• Read about the instrument category.
• Complete the enrichment activities.
• Study the review questions.

Synopsis

The next several lessons feature percussion instruments. Percussion instruments include those struck with the hand, struck with a mallet or stick, or those that are shaken. This lesson introduces the bodhrán drum, an Irish percussion instrument. To make music, percussionists strike the bodhrán drum with a cipín. The musical composition for this lesson, 'Bodhrán Improvisation,' by Hinnerk Rümenapf, features the music of a bodhrán drum. The photograph included in the lesson, 'Bodhran,' by RichL, shows a bodhrán drum and a cipín.

Vocabulary

Percussion Instrument: Musical instruments played by striking with the hand or with a handheld or pedal-operated stick or beater, or by shaking, including drums, cymbals, xylophones, gongs, bells, and rattles.
Percussionist: A person who plays a percussion instrument, especially professionally.
Bodhrán: A shallow one-sided Irish drum.
Cipín: A stick used to beat the bodhrán drum.

Category

Music lessons over the next two years group musical instruments into five major categories: strings, keyboards, percussion, brass, and woodwinds.

Percussion instruments include instruments played by striking with the hand or with a handheld or pedal-operated stick or beater, or by shaking, including drums, cymbals, xylophones, gongs, bells, and rattles.

Examine the images of percussion instruments below.

1. Drum

2. Gong

3. Tambourine

4. Xylophone

Enrichment

Activity 1: Study the Parts of a Bodhrán

• Study the parts on the labeled picture of the Bodhrán.

Activity 2: Map the Instrument

• The Bodhrán is an Irish drum. Find Ireland on the map of Europe below.

Activity 3: Look at and Listen to Other Percussion Instruments

Watch the video of additional percussion instruments below.

The video includes the triangle, the tambourine, the cowbell, and the maracas.

Review

Question 1

What are the five major groups of instruments listed in the lesson?

1 / 5

Answer 1

The five major groups of instruments are strings, keyboards, percussion, brass, and woodwinds.

1 / 5

Question 2

Which instrument group does this lesson feature?

2 / 5

Answer 2

This lesson features the percussion group.

2 / 5

Question 3

Which percussion instrument does this lesson feature?

3 / 5

Answer 3

This lesson features the bodhrán drum.

3 / 5

Question 4

What are the major parts of the bodhrán drum?

4 / 5

Answer 4

Major parts of the bodhrán drum include the shell, the membrane or head, and the cipín.

4 / 5

Question 5

How do percussionists make music with the bodhrán drum?

5 / 5

Answer 5

Percussionists strike the membrane of the bodhrán drum with the cipín to make music.

5 / 5

❮ ❯

1. What are the five major groups of instruments listed in the lesson? The five major groups of instruments are strings, keyboards, percussion, brass, and woodwinds.
2. Which instrument group does this lesson feature? This lesson features the percussion group.
3. Which percussion instrument does this lesson feature? This lesson features the bodhrán drum.
4. What are the major parts of the bodhrán drum? Major parts of the bodhrán drum include the shell, the membrane or head, and the cipín.
5. How do percussionists make music with the bodhrán drum? Percussionists strike the membrane of the bodhrán drum with the cipín to make music.

References

'Percussion instrument.' Wikipedia. Wikipedia.org. n.p.

'Bodhrán.' Wikipedia. Wikipedia.org. n.p.