I have fond and not so fond memories surrounding each of my drums. Fond includes the joy I experience when drumming. Not-so-fond includes the process of choosing the hide and in the case of my Buffalo Hide Drum, the stringing.
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| My first – untreated deer hide – see the picture? |
How to make a drum? First you get a hide. My first drum had an untreated deer hide. What that meant was it wasn
Interesting post, Judith! I never knew anything about the process of drum making until now.
I'm drawn to the idea of drumming as a form of meditation. I'm going to have to give it a try.
I expect making a drum yourself creates a strong connection with the drum.
Much like everything, we are often drawn to something and can't quite put our finger on why. So it is with picking out a hide or purchasing a ready made drum. Professional drummers don't make their own drums but still claim a particular set of drums as "mine." At least my brother was that way with his drums and other instruments he owned.
There is something soothing and trance-like about drumming and there are some excellent CD's of drumming that were made for meditation. I've got a series of CD's of gongs for meditation that I love. Much easier to get into the zone with drums or gongs in the background.