Into The World Of The Drum 

Hand drumming started for me back in the woods on a winter night at a native healing and teaching lodge in Ontario, Canada. The elders where preparing their sacred water drum for the coming ceremony. It was amazing to watch them build the drum right there on the spot. Every part had special meaning and symbolic significance. The traditional teacher chose two helpers to assist while he tightened the deerskin drumhead. The smell of sage and sweet grass was thick in the air and the prayers where in Ojibwa so I had no idea what was being said. When the drum was finished the facilitator struck it four times... four life changing times for me. The sound still travels through my blood into my heart and deep into the soul.

Maybe you also have a similar drum story to share or maybe you soon will. Bottom line the drum comes to each drummer in a very simple yet profound way.

Then you play, you tune, maybe you build and you play some more. Watching your rhythm grow. Awakening life forces which lay dormant for to long. You hurt and you yell and you play some more. You tear it apart then rebuild it again, you meet others and they play beside you, with you and for you. You break barriers, you hurt fingers and you play some more. Things become smoother, you stop beating and start playing no longer on the drum but with the drum. You get pulled in and you play some more. Joy becomes bliss, pain becomes pleasure and all you can think about is playing some more. You reach for the stars then remind yourself that it is wood and skin that helped you get there.

Life as a drum maker brings many a subtle reward. Each piece of wood has a message. You can hear songs as you cut and carve, songs of many winter nights with screaming winds and blowing snows, songs of birds nesting, being born and breathing their last breath, songs of insects, storms and the cycles of nature are all rooted in its structure.

You listen to the cracks and pops of the drying skins and you wonder what message they tell. Your prayer goes out that your brothers the plant and animal people did not suffer in order to supply you with the materials for the making of this drum. But you know in your heart that this drum can help transform, heal, and bring joy to the people that will play. The phone rings...another order and it pulls you out of this magical world for a while. Each of these drums has special meaning to you, nothing in the ritualistic dogmatic way but something more real, something in the now. Your blood has mixed with wood, your muscles and joints ache from the stress, and your mind has felt both the good and the bad.

Drum circle facilitation has kind of sprung itself on me. My plan was to build and stay in the background. The soul had a different idea. Why should it just be me who feels the healing and happiness of drumming, why just me who sees and feels the magic. People turn and look to you for guidance, for knowledge and for support. You share what you can but many of these things are difficult to put into words. You lead by example but many are not ready to follow. Misunderstandings and confusion follow you every step of the way. But out of it all you see the meaning, the smiling face of an old man lost in a world they call dementia, the joyful bliss of a mentally challenged youth being allowed to escape and release into the new communication. Community's bonding, parents, grandparents and families drumming all together, inspirational emails thanking you for the opportunity, newspapers clicking and writing about the phenomena and best of all a simple thank you from the people that join you.

This is the world of the drum, the drummer, the builder and facilitator.

Thank you for listening to my philosophy on drumming keep in mind it is only one persons opinion. Others philosophy and stories will differ slightly from the next. This is a very diverse world but in the end we just keep flowing like a rhythm.

We wish you all the best in finding your "Primordial Percussion".

Cliff Patton is both owner and drum maker of quality instruments at Primordial Percussion. He believes that the fundamental essence of nature and of people is the flow of cyclic rhythms. Cliff believes that with patience, effort and daring people can tap into this universal rhythmic source. It is his personal mission in the role of drum circle facilitator to help others find and express their own inner rhythm. To learn more about Cliff and Primordial Percussion you may visit his site at http://www.primordialpercussion.com.