Frame Drums

Heat-bent wood frames. Each frame is solid wood that has been heated and bent into a hoop, the traditional way frame drums and bodhrans are made. A bent frame is light and strong and leaves the head free to ring.

Natural skin heads. Goatskin or calfskin, some with the hair left on. Real hide responds to your hand the way synthetic heads cannot: the drum warms up as you play and the tone shifts with the weather.

A drum for every setting. From light 10 and 12 inch hand drums to 22 inch drums with a deep, long voice, plus painted Om and Circle of Life heads, antler and wooden handle models, and tunable versions.

The 14 and 16 inch sizes are the most versatile starting points and the two we recommend most often. They are large enough to carry in a drum circle and small enough to hold comfortably in one hand.

The 10 and 12 inch drums are the most portable and the easiest to play one-handed for long sessions. The 18 and 22 inch drums are for ceremony, large groups, meditation and sound healing, or anyone who wants the deepest voice a frame drum can give.

Want to set the pitch exactly? Choose a tunable model: the tunable shaman drum, the bendir with its buzzing snare, or the finger-played tar.

The frame drum is one of the easiest drums to start. The basic technique is intuitive, and most players are keeping a simple rhythm in the first session; the depth of the tradition opens up over years of listening and playing.

Tuning by warmth. A natural skin head tightens as it warms and loosens in damp air. If the head sounds slack, rub it briskly with the palm of your hand, or hold it near (never against) a gentle heat source such as a lamp, turning the drum as you go, until the pitch comes back up. Tunable models use the hardware inside the frame instead.

Beater or fingers. Shaman-style drums come with a leather beater. The bendir and tar are played with the fingers.