Listen to the rhythm of a traditional Irish song and you are most likely hearing the beat of the bodhrán, a Round, hand-held frame drum. Struck either with the bare hand or with a stick of wood called a cipín, tipper, beater, or bone, the percussion instrument keeps the beat of a song. While it has similarity in form to a tambourine — a skin stretched over a frame but without jingles on the sides — its origins may have emerged in the 16th or 17th century from the adapted use of agricultural tools such as the "riddle" used for sifting grain, or a round frame used for winnowing or wool dying. However, the bodhrán didn’t become a standard part of Irish music until the 1960s or 1970s, with the popularity of the groups Ceoltóirí Chualann and The Chieftains.

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