Native American Drums
This is a question about drying Native American drums, from someone who uses a drum in a humid area. We answered the email question and thought we would include it here to help others.
Question
I like your merchandise just fine. I’ve got one of your indian drums[18 inch cedar ] and have blessed it and played it also. My question is how do I keep it dry? I live on the east coast, very humid, it affects the sound of course. To play it I build a fire and warm it up till the tone comes back. It is an awesome drum and I will be buying more of them soon but I do have to take very good care of them so I ask I could keep it in a metal shed during the day would this work or do you have any more advice I can get. Thank you in advance.
Answer
Thanks for writing. It sounds like you are on the right track with the drum. The humidity is the cause. So, the shed might work unless it is humid too. The fire works because it dries the air. A dehumidifier will work and also air conditioning will also dry the air. The direct sun will also dry the hide.
What makes it tough on closed wooden floor drums is that it takes a while for the air inside the wooden drum ring to equalize, so the dryer the inside gets the longer the hide will hold the tone if that makes sense. So, you want to dry it longer than you think so that the inside can dry too, then it will hold. It seems like you are doing the best you can in your climate. You will notice it change for the better as the weather conditions improve. I hope that helps. Thanks
