Shamanic Frame drums

Shamanic frame drums are single-headed drums with a skin stretched over a wooden hoop that is wider than it is deep.
The drums in this range are modelled on traditional Native American frame drums, also known as medicine drums.
They’re used in ceremony, meditation, and sound healing.
Every shamanic frame drum here is built with a ring-and-rope system on a strong, composite teak and meranti frame, with a goat skin or synthetic head.

Shamanic frame drums come in four sizes, from the 30cm small to the 60cm XL.
If you mainly play for yourself, a small or medium is lighter to hold through a long session.
If you play for a group or need the drum to fill a room, the large and XL give a deeper, fuller bass that you can really feel in your body. The goat skin drums with a hide handle start at medium.

Goat skin shamanic frame drums have a warmer tone that varies slightly from drum to drum, and every skin has its own natural colour, texture, and markings.
The vegan shamanic frame drum has a synthetic head with no animal products, gives a consistent sound, and doesn’t need adjusting when the weather changes. If you play outdoors or travel between climates, the vegan drum is easier to manage.
If you want a traditional hide handle, choose goat skin, which offers one from medium up.

Shamanic frame drums resonate best when struck with a rebounding technique.
Don’t press into the skin, bounce off it.
Allow the skin to breathe and vibrate freely to find its pure voice.
Every shamanic frame drum comes with an exclusive video tutorial on how to play and care for your drum, and the ready-made drums also include a soft beater.

Goat skin frame drums respond to the weather.
If the skin goes slack in cold or humid conditions, heat it slowly and carefully with a heat source such as a fire.
If it gets too tight in the heat, take it to a cooler location where the skin can contract. Store it in a moderate and consistent climate, which keeps the skin stable.
The vegan drum only needs to be kept away from sharp objects.

Shamanic frame drums can be built at home or in a workshop.
The shamanic drum making kit comes with a goat or kangaroo skin.
The vegan drum making kit uses a synthetic head, and both include a video tutorial.
If you’d like someone to guide you through the process, our shaman drum making workshops run at the St Kilda studio for individuals and groups.

Shamanic frame drums at African Drumming are made by our team in Indonesia, using a traditional ring-and-rope system on a teak and meranti frame.
The hair is removed from the goat skins with a natural salt solution, not bleach or harsh chemicals.
Before a drum is sent out, the African Drumming team checks it for good vibrations and sound.

The gome drum is a bass drum from Ghana, typically used by the Ga people. Unlike shamanic frame drums, it’s played on its side, with the drummer sitting on top and using both hands and the heels of the feet. Ours is made from Odum hardwood with a goat skin head. It has a tuning system built into the rear of the drum that is tightened by hand.