Native American Hand Drum

My drum with artwork

As promised, this blog will be about my hand drum. Sometimes called a 'frame drum' this is a traditional native style drum.

My drum is a Remo 14 inch Buffalo drum. I purchased mine on Amazon. I've had the drum for some time now. Originally I wanted to join a drum circle but I never seem to be able to get to one, and the flutes are far more interesting.  This is not to say that the drum is not interesting.

Remo 14 inch drum

For my purposes, the drum has become a background instrument. I use it to create beats to play under the flute. Or I have someone play it while I play flute. And like all the non traditional musical instruments in my arsenal, the drum has a special place and I love playing it. I also use it for more traditional native uses and meditation.

However, if you take a look at the colorful photo above you will see it features extraordinary artwork. I have a nice lady that does illustrations for my DVD projects, and I sent the drum to her to have it painted.

Since the Hummingbird is my Native American spirit animal / totem. I wanted the drum to have an effigy of the Hummingbird. Stevie Lynn did a fantastic job creating the painting on the face of the drum!

The artwork features the Hummingbird, the bear claw, a crescent moon, and other native symbols. It's very colorful and detailed. You can imagine how her artwork transformed the simple drum into a special and unique treasure.

I enjoy exploring non traditional musical instruments, especially those I can pick up and play by ear. The drum is easy to play and was probably the first musical instrument native people created. There are many styles and types of native drums, the hand drum is one of the basic but important drums available.

 It's used in drum circles, as a percussion instrument in rock music, and as a method for meditation or spiritual attunement.

You can pick one up from as low as $50, to as much as $2000, depending on it's style and the detail of the artwork. Try one, you'll love it!