Shamanic Drum Repairs

Our drums mean so much to us, for the powerful experiences of inner healing and connection that we have shared with them. Sometimes accidents happen, and at Heron Drums we are able to help when they do.

As we know with all the care requirements that come with Shamanic Drum ownership, they can be temperamental beings. As many of us work with our drums outdoors, we have to take extra care to keep our drums safe when traveling to gatherings, festivals, or elsewhere within the sacred landscapes to journey with the ancient spirit of the land.

As the sacred drums are, in many ways, also our friends, teachers and healers, it can be really upsetting to find that it has broken, and we are often left wondering what can be done.

Here I wish to talk a bit about how a drum might break, understand the spiritual reasons for a break that often run parallel to the practical reasons, and how we can help repair your Shamanic Drum.

When a Shamanic Drums needs a repair

Severe Drum Damage

Drumhead torn due to being left unprotected in high temperatures

I am most often contacted about drum breaks during the summer month. Whether the drum has broken in a hot car, been left too close to a campfire or not survived the high and low temperatures of summer camping,

The first sign of an issue is that the drum seems to have lost all tension. This is most often because of the hoops breaking due to the high temperatures. When it is hot, the drum head tightens, and if it tightens too much, it puts too much pressure on the hoop, causing it to crack, either at the join or elsewhere along the hoop.

Other breaks can occur when the hide tears, usually in areas where it is dry and vulnerable, and when it tightens in heat it tears at this point of weakness. As well as on the drumhead, this can sometimes happen on the back of the drum, where the overlap of the drumhead connects with the lacing.

It is not only in the warm and dry weather that we can damage our drums. In damp weather, the drumhead can absorb moisture from the air and become flat, and you will notice it lose its tension and resonance when you play it. If played a lot in this condition, it can stretch the drumhead, after which it will rarely be taut enough to play, even on a very hot and dry day.

Spiritual Understanding of Shamanic Drums breaking

There are a number of practical reasons why a drum breaks, but at the same time, there are often other synchronistic or spiritual reasons why this happens.

For example, it is very common to find that hoops breaking may coincide with the end of a cycle in your life, or the start of a new beginning, and other breaks may coincide with a big release in your life.

We recognise that drums breaking may be part of a process, and that their repair and rebirth will also play a part in this.

Heron Drums Shamanic Drum Repairs

We know how much you care about your drums and want to continue your journeys with them. At Heron Drums, we can repair and rebirth the drum as needed. To honour the release or end of cycle that the break may be related to, we also offer to send you the broken hide or hoop to release in ceremony in your own way, and we can give some guidance on how to do this.

For any repairs, please contact us first to discuss what has happened, and send any photos of the damage to help us better advise. We then arrange for damaged drums to be sent to us at our workshop in Kent, to be repaired and rebirthed.

Some repairs may require a new hoop, others a new drumhead and lacing, and some may just need re-lacing. To find out more about the different drum repairs and what we can do to help, please complete the form here.

How to avoid needing a Shamanic Drum repair

Prevention rather than cure - while we are here to help, we would definitely prefer all Shamanic Drums be carefully looked after to prevent any such damage, and advise people follow the guidance on Caring for your Shamanic Drum.