About Native American and Other Frame Drums
Hand held frame and hoop drums, such as our Native American Drums, are among of the oldest known percussion instruments, used by the First Nations people of the Americas and worldwide in prayer and ritual, ceremony, personal wellness and healing, and music. To many, the drum is more than a musical instrument, but a living spirit that calls people back to their origins and relationship to Creation.
Our Native American Frame Drums are made by traditional Native craftspeople, made in a traditional way, with prayer and ceremony, honoring the spirit of the animal and wood, and the medicine clans associated with those elements. They are constructed out of a wooden frame, with elk, deer, buffalo, horse or moose skin stretched over the frame, tied tightly with animal sinew, and dried. Our Native American Frame Drums currently are made by tribal members of the Maidu and Navajo nations. We have available Apache drums as well. Each drum carries with it those lineages. We have found that the frame drums we offer or some of the best available for their craftsmanship, the feel of their tone, and their durability. We have the honor to offer these drums to a world-wide audience, and hear stories of how these drums have touched others’ lives.
Beyond Native American drums, we as well carry other lines of hide drums, shaman drums, and the REMO line of "Buffalo" and other drums. REMO revolutionized the drum industry with their lines of high quality synthetic heads, which keep their voice in any weather condition, humid or dry. Since the heads are synthetic, the drums are ready to play anytime. Natural skin drums are affected by humidity (softening their voice) and dry conditions (tightening their voice.) In high humid conditions, they can lose their voice, though their skins return to full voice when the air dries, or they are heated (with fire, heaters, hair driers, any sensible heat source, (not too hot for your own skin!) (We do work with Native drum makers who understand the issues of humidity, and make their drums in a way that is able to withstand high humid conditions as well as any traditionally made natural skin drum we know. We, also, offer wonderful 'medicine' paintings, created by skilled artisans, which you can see through the link below. And, we offer a sweat lodge drum specifically designed to withstand the humid conditions of up to 4 rounds of the lodge ceremony.)
In the Native section, you can also see information about the 'medicines' of different drums. Understanding the medicine traditions can help you enrich your own experience and journey with these precious medicine drums.
If you need help choosing the drum that is right for you, please give us a call or email us at admin@sunreed.com. Our friendly and knowledgeable staff would be happy to serve you.