A 12-inch shaman-style frame drum with a deep, resonant voice.
Frame drums are the oldest documented drums in human history, found across nearly every culture from the Arctic to the Middle East. This 12-inch Roosebeck is built in the shaman style, deep tone, simple form, ready to play. The rosewood frame holds a fixed goatskin head, and the included leather beater gives you the warm, rounded attack frame drums are known for. No tuning, no setup, just pick it up and play.
Deep, Resonant, Meditative Tone
The 12-inch goatskin head produces a deep, full tone with substantial sustain. Struck with the leather beater in the center, you get a deep boom; struck closer to the rim, the tone tightens and gains overtones. The instrument responds to where and how hard you play.
About goatskin: Natural goatskin produces a warmer, more organic tone than synthetic heads. It also responds to environmental conditions, slightly different on humid versus dry days, which is part of its character.
Solid Rosewood Frame, Hand-Stretched Head
The frame is solid rosewood, dense and resonant. The goatskin head is stretched and fixed across the frame, ready to play out of the box. There's no tuning hardware, frame drums in this tradition are fixed-tension instruments, valued for their pure, simple voice.
Why rosewood: The dense hardwood reflects sound back into the head rather than absorbing it, giving the drum a fuller, more focused voice than softwood frames.
Easy to Hold, Easy to Play
Hold the drum vertically by gripping the inside of the frame with one hand, and strike the head with the included leather beater in the other. You can also play with bare hands for a different tonal palette. Position your striking hand toward the center for deep boom tones, toward the rim for higher, more articulate sounds.
New to frame drums? There's no wrong way to play. Frame drums have been used in ritual, healing, meditation, and music-making for millennia precisely because they're so accessible.
