The traditional hand drums you see in the photos here were all made during workshops held with the handful of students I typically teach whenever I’m approached by an individual or group of people who know(s) they have to make their own drum. I’ve been doing this work more than 25 years, ever since I first began to make them under the guidance of my teacher.


This is how I came to learn how to make drums myself: I attended a shamanic drumming workshop and when we were asked who would like to accompany the leader in drumming, I found I not only kept up with him the entire time, but when we finished, I knew I was a shamanic drummer and I needed my own drum. Through a series of “coincidences” I came into possession of deerskins and the leader of the workshop finally capitulated to teach me how to turn these beings into sacred drums.

What I teach are the same ways I learned - to make a rim without nails, staples, glue, if possible, and to clean and prepare the skin in a way that honours the spirit of the being who occupied it, so that the drum will sing for you for a very long time. We generally clean the raw, untreated skins by hand, using small, rather dull tools and our hands to remove the hair and the underflesh, so as not to nick the skin in any way, and thus, lose the entire drum through haste or loss of attention.

Further, we all clean every skin together until they are all finished and ready for assembly, without anyone knowing until the very last minute which drum will go to whom. There is no favouritism in this; only a listening to the guidance that comes when needed, to determiine whose drum we’re actually assembling.

You may notice that the drums all have rather an organic shape. This shape comes from using a fresh green tree, one which has been identified as willing to give away, in order to become part of a drum. I prefer to use cedar, as this wood seems to flex well with the deerskin or elk hide, without its fibre tearing through the finely stretched textures.

Mustering for something as labour-intensive as a drum making requires a great deal of preparation, the procuring of skins being not the least of the necessary steps. Depending on where the workshop is being held, this could mean the group of us drive by truck into a location where the necessary trees are growing, to find the right one, cutting it down and hauling it back to our work area, where it is cut through the length into strips that are gently bent into shape and put to soak for awhile, until we’re ready to put them together. If we’re blessed with a well-provisioned location, we may be fortunate to have a table saw for our use and someone who knows how to use it on green wood.

In addition, a good source of water, necessary large containers in which to soak the skins while they shed their hair, good work surfaces to accommodate the entire group and a place to safely dispose of the hair, flesh, and soaking waters is essential. In this work timing is everything, since all the work is done by hand and people don’t often have the many days it might take to do it in a more leisurely fashion. We usually work outdoors, under a shelter and, more often than not in the spring or late summer, when it’s not too hot and buggy, but not so cold we can’t easily use our bodies to do the work. And focus, intention and constant work are necessary to complete the job in what could take 4, 5, 6 or even 7 days until you go home with your drying drum in hand. The time always depends on the commitment and necessary high intent held by all of us, to bring our efforts to a graceful, easy and good result for everyone.

While most people who seek to create their own drum believe this workshop is just that: creating a drum, I have learned that it is far more than this. What usually happens is that one’s greatest issue shows up in the midst of the work and this requires that I wear another hat - that of counselor and coach - to get everyone through their process, while keeping all participants on task and in time. For this reason, I have chosen to interview all those who apply to do this work before accepting their application.

In the end, everyone goes away from the experience with a thorough knowledge of how to make a drum, a complete drum in hand, and often a greater awareness of their current life issue. Sometimes participants break through that challenge to the other side, which is no mean feat. If you’ve been wanting to make your own hand drum and you’ve wondered how to do that, please contact me by phone or email.

DRUMS FOR SALE

From time to time I make drums by request for individuals and sometimes I have extra drums made, which I sell. None of my drums are decorated with anything more than the natural colouring of the animal, but because they are not salted, nor treated with any chemicals, they can be decorated by you or someone you know. If you would like to purchase a drum please contact me by phone or by email.

REPAIRS

Owners of other hand drums ask if I can repair one of their drum heads and, depending on size and construction, I can replace dried goatskin with deer hide or elk, depending on what I have on hand.