The Importance of Hand Drumming

I remember years ago, when I wanted to buy a hand drum, like a djembe or a doumbek, that it was a difficult process. First, you had to know some one who knew someone else, like the cousin of a friend of a friend. Then you had to be taken there, to some sort of secret place that only insiders knew existed, where you negotiated, and finally, if you were lucky, you could secure a top quality hand drum. 

 Fortunately, times have changed. The market is full of good quality ethnic hand drums, and Remo Belli, the founder of REMO (the drum head company), invested a lot of money/time/energy into making top quality and inexpensive hand drums for everyone. There is now no excuse for not owning at least 1 hand drum. For $50-150 you can buy a good quality small djembe/doumbek/conga/tar/etc. of some sort. Unless you are going on tour with a major act, there's no need to spend $500 on a drum.



Why Should I Play Hand Drums?

 Hand drumming is primal. It's skin on skin (or plastic). It's connected. Regular Western drumming with sticks and mallets is fine, but there's something earthy & organic about doing away with the sticks and just using our hands. And it's fun! You don't have to be a big chops monster to play a hand drum and enjoy the experience. You can just play by yourself, or join a drum circle.

 Hand drumming will also improve all your other drumming. Really. It goes back to that connection thing. You really do feel connected to the rhythm and the wider world when playing a hand drum. It's very satisfying. And you also discover new things. Like new rhythms. Like how rhythm works. Like how you experience rhythm.
Hand Drums are also VERY Portable!

 You can take them anywhere. You can keep them handy, like next to your desk. Feeling stuck? Grab your drum and bang out a rhythm! Get those ideas flowing! Feeling sad/lonely/depressed? Bang your drum and feel connected to the world! Hand drumming is great therapy.

 I could go on and on, but all you need to do is search the web for hand drumming, and you'll find a universe of information out there. Suffice to say, placing our hand on a drum head connects us back for generation after generation of people who have played stretch skins over hollow logs. It's primal. It's in our DNA. Don't miss out on it.

 ~ MB

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