Since the beginning of humanity, all across the earth, people hunted or raised animals for sustenance and learned to use the animals' skins to make instruments, clothing and tools. This 3 day drum-making class gives a hands-on introduction to using locally sourced animal skins to make beautifully resonant drums, soft clothing, durable leather, and more. Guided by a drum maker and educator, the group will dive deep into traditional and new methods.
Hands-on skills students will acquire in this class include:
- Preparing a rawhide (animal skin) for a drum head and lacing
- Shaping wood into drum hoops or shells
- Turning animal skins into buckskin and leather
- Several drum lacing techniques
On the second day, the group will fashion drum frames from various materials (bent saplings, hollowed out logs, etc,...) but they will be group projects, working together to learn different techniques and use the tools. The drum hoops used for each person's personal drum will be premade solid wood hoops that need to be sanded.On the third day each student can complete their own personal deer skin hand drum, made with a solid wood hoop and real animal skin. An optional activity to close the workshop will be painting your drum skin with natural inks.
Every effort will be made to have the same size drum for every student, ideally 16". (Students whose drums are only 12" will receive a $35 cash-back discount from the materials fee.)
