The best hand made Aboriginal hand drums …………..Guaranteed!

If you’re ready to discover the Physical, Psychological and Spiritual rewards of a Sacred Aboriginal Hand Drum.

“You’re about to Discover A Little Known, Sometimes Controversial, TRUTH About the Sacred Aboriginal Hand Drum Industry – direct From an Aboriginal Insider- So You Can Finally Make A Totally Informed Buying Decision…………………………

     Once I Blow The Lid Completely off All That You “Thought” There Was To Know About Aboriginal Hand Drums……………

“Dear Fellow Drum Seeker”

It all starts with gathering the materials need, Cedar for the drum ring, hide for the drum head and lacing.

The great diversity of First peoples makes it impossible to cover all the wealth of Canadian Aboriginal Traditions. Differences in geography and landscape in this vast country have produced a rich variety of cultures. Each community used uniquely local materials to construct drums, rattles and other sound producing instruments. The people also keenly understood their environments soundscape. Replicating those natural sounds was an important aesthetic consideration when making a drum or instrument.

The most common drums of First Peoples use today are the frame drum – a small, single-person, hand drum. Historically, most regions and cultures across the country had frame drums. Some exceptions included certain people of the West Coast – boreal rain forest, the Northern Arctic and the Iroquoian nations of eastern Canada. Each group had its own distinct drums and other percussion instruments.

When we are going to collect the material to construct drums, we do a number of ceremonies and we make offerings of tobacco, food, sweet grass or sage.

We usually do this in private places in the forest, and we ask for those things that are needed. When we receive a favorable message to guide us to go forward with that task, a lot of times we will find that animals will readily give its life, and ultimately its skin for the use of a drum.

We make our drums in a circle as it represents the earth and life; a good selection for your first drum is 12 -18 inches. Single – sided drums play better because they are held from behind, which gives them more stability.

How are drum rings are made is quite a process starting at the local mill, picking the best clear grain first growth cedar (has the best tone), our rims are modular (consisting of many interlocking pieces) gluing the pieces together, then tying together with rubber strap till dry, then with biscuits at every joint for strength. Once dried they are machine sanded inside and out, rounded on top and bottom of the three inch thickness, then a final hand sanding, and coated in a natural oil, Over the years in order to get a good signing drum you need to stretch the hide tight and I’ve seen many drum rings crushed by drying hide.

Animal hides; Removing the fur a very lengthy process, as continuous soaking of the hide is needed for five to fourteen days, the hides are then stretched on a wooden frame, made to size, they are then dehaired and fleshed, using traditional tools (moose leg bone and a home made fleshing knife) then dried as raw hide.

After the hide is clean, we can then cut out the best pieces for the sizes of our drum, one large hide will make five good size drums, each drum becomes unique with color and sound depending on where the drum head is cut from belly of the skin is thinner, than shoulder hide is thick. We then cut the smaller left over pieces into strips for lacing (to tie or sew the drum together) it take nine to twelve feet of three eights lacing to sew a drum together.

As we go through all these processes day after day we continually smudge to our selves and think good thoughts.

On the day before the of assembling a drum, the hide again needs to be soaked in water, after the holes are punched into the out side edge of the drum head, the drum head also needs to surround the ring over the back edge by half an inch.

The drum-maker then attaches it to the frame, using only medium tension. As the hide dries, it shrinks and pulls tight, giving your drum a beautiful tone that is unique unto it self.

“BENEFITS OF DRUMMING”

    For centuries, Indigenous peoples have kept alive their traditions of honoring the Earth as Sacred. Native people seem intuitively understood that human beings are coded for ritual. These cultures have always drummed in ritual at births, deaths, weddings, harvests and rites of passage. The drumbeat echoes the heart-beat, connecting us to our deeper-selves. It’s a universal language which communes with people from all cultures. Native people say the drum beat also communes with the earth, reminder that all of creation is alive and therefore sacred.

We can all play a drum, Rhythm is universal. We were introduced to rhythm before we were born through the pulsating beat of our mother’s heart and we have it deep inside us.

“WE ALL HAVE OUR INTERNAL RHYTHMS”

Rhythm healing relies on the natural law of resonance to restore the vibration integrity of the body, mind, and spirit. Resonance is the ability of a sound wave to impart its energy into the human body, making it vibrate in sympathy.

When we drum, our living flesh, brainwaves, and spiritual energy centers begin to vibrate in response.

If you can tap your feet to rhythm you can join in and experience the benefits. The drum pattern projects onto the body a supportive resonance or sound pattern to which the body can attune

In a drum circle our personal expressions join together as poly-rhythms to make a form of “in the moment” music that lifts our spirits and unites all the players, everybody feels part of it.

According to current medical research, stress is a cause of 98% of all disease.

Over the past few years there have been a number of studies made by medical researchers that link hand drum playing to a variety of surprising health benefits. Medical research is showing that the immune system produces more of the viral fighting (NK) cells when people drum. It also increases the ‘Feel Good’ hormones.

Drumming is now being used as a therapy for a number of ailments;

Cancer, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, strokes, Autism, Stress, healing after surgery and Addictions to name a few.

Recent biofeedback studies show that drumming for a brief periods, can alter the brainwaves patterns dramatically reducing stress. Just fifteen minutes of drumming along with our own heartbeats can double the alpha brainwaves, so drumming actually medicates us?

“Group drumming tunes our biology, orchestrates our immunity and enables healing to begin.”

 When people are surrounded by drums played in unison a phenomena called entrainment takes place. The vibrations of the drum cause the cells and fragmented electrical impulses of the body’s nervous system to smooth out and line up with the rhythm. This is the state of mind where healing begins and a sense of well being comes to the forefront.

“This sympathetic resonance forms new harmonic alignments”

Opens the body’s various energy meridians and charkas, releases blocked emotional patters, promotes healing, and helps reconnect us to our core, enhancing our sense of empowerment and stimulating our creative expression.

This means that one must learn to listen very carefully to the sound of a drum. The drum, like all our relations, is alive, and is trying to tell you something. So listen with more than just your ears. To hear the voice of the drum you must listen with your entire being.