Healing Drum Retreat

In early March Kaye and Estee ventured into the State of Oregon for a special drum making class. What makes this group of drum making participants so special is their age and common bond. This group, a cub scout troup, consisted of 8 boys, each who worked quite diligently to create their own unique drum. [...]

At this upcoming Healing Drum Retreat we will have the drum making class on Friday evening April 16, 2010. Those interested in building their own custom drum should sign up early to assure that the hide and the frame they are interested in are available. Kaye has buffalo, horse, and elk available at this time, [...]

A drum rests suspended from the ceiling of my house, and each day I hear a resonant, deep, “pop” as the buffalo hide dries and the rawhide tightens. Each day I look over this beautiful creation, and remember the group effort that made this drum what it is today. The tone is deep, with each [...]

Building a drum is a spiritual experience. Native drums give honor to both ourselves, Great Spirit, and Mother Earth. Drumming can carry into many aspects of our lives. Kaye shares with us her recent gardening experience. “Since planting time is here we worked hard to create a big gardening area, a protected space for our [...]

It feels like we’re only minutes away from the Drum Making Party on Saturday May 30, 2009. What all will be happening at this event? First off, we’ll be making a really big drum.  This group drum will be a two-sided buffalo drum, with leather lacing. We’ll sing a few songs, and have some drum [...]

Okay, you caught me smack dab in the middle of a really bad pun.  It’s true, you just can’t hide a buffalo, but you can use a buffalo hide in drum making.   In fact, we had four buffalo half hides to work with. We started with the largest drum, a 30″ ceremonial drum.  We needed [...]

Preparing hides for drum making takes muscle, and a lot of planning.  Kaye states, “There can be variance in the thickness of the hide, and this will effect how much the hide will stretch when you build your drum.  I’ve build many drums, and know how to work with the hide, and how to talk [...]