help! my bodhran is ill!

[Brett Williams]

You wrote: 
>
>Hi. I've got a Walton's bodhran that is several years old. I live in a
>semi-desert climate which makes the tension of the skin somewhat of a
>worry. I practice alot and use a bit of water on the back to loosen 
>the skin whilst I play. This past summer I noticed during practice 
>that there is a spot about the size of my palm in the middle of the 
>drumhead that sounds, for lack of a better word, dead. It doesn't 
>resonate like the rest of the skin does. This really worries me since 
>it doesn't seem to be overly affected when I put water on the back. I 
>rubbed some linseed oil into the head (on the playing side) and it 
>seemed to help for awhile but now things seem to be getting back to 
>dead sound in the middle again as if I never oiled the skin. Does 
>anyone have any idea what is causing this problem or know how to fix 
>it permanently? I'd hate to have to replace the skin since I'm not 
sure where to buy one or how to do it. 
>
> 
>				apprehensively,
>				  Meaghen Mac Laren
>				    Ramsgaard, An Tir
>

There are sources for new skin heads, like Hobgoblin Music in London, 
or even Lark in the Morning in California.  However, before you reach 
this stage, I have a few suggestions:

    Stop using the water bath on the inside of the head to 'restretch' 
the skin.  What I suspect from your list of symptoms is that you're 
inadvertently removing the natural oils from the 'dead' spot in the 
center of the head by wetting/drying cycles.  If you must use water to 
adjust the head, use a mister-- and the absolute minimum necessary to 
loosen up the head.
    Don't use linseed oil on your skin head-- try finding a mink oil 
preparation used for fine leathers.  Think of the oil as lotion for the 
skin of the goat that used to own your drum head. If you play your 
bodhran as often as you say, I would oil the head often, on both sides. 
I can't remember the precise name, but Dr. (Whatever's) Hide 
Rejuvenator has been the gloop of preference in Southern California for 
a long time.
    Have a little patience with your drum head.  Just the physical act 
of leathering it with your beater should adjust the tension, that, 
coupled with the dryness of your specific environment.  Skins will 
adjust to their prevailing environment, given the opportunity.  If they 
have to go back and forth between extreme opposites of humidity ranges, 
you should be prepared for a possible skin split in a weak spot.  Your 
'dead' area is just that-- a potential weak spot.
    Use your non-beater hand on the skin inside the back of the drum to 
adjust tension, rather than any water at all. You'll find that you can 
get some pretty awesome 'scale' effects by adjusting the head's 'note' 
this way.
    When you travel from the central desert environment of An Tir to 
the more humid parts, remember that your skin head will suck up that 
extra moisture. Try to take up the slack with your non-laying hand as 
much as you can, instead of resorting to the water bath treatment. That 
should be medicine of last resort, rather than standard operating 
procedure.

I hope this helps! I have an ancient (14 year old) bodhran that mostly 
lives locked in my closet these days...since my toddler son punched a 
couple of holes in the head with a pencil. *sigh* However, the head's 
been cared for sufficiently that so far, the damage is not sufficient 
to warrant replacing the head. Yet.

ciorstan
(who also suggests checking out Arval's Bodhran Page, which you can 
find through the SCA Book Of Links...)