Jun 5, 2022

The story starts in March. One of my best friends wanted to make a drum and of course I was willing to help. I am always interested in new projects. The plan was that we would make the drum together while she was visiting me in the first week of April. Then she said that I should make one too. I did not see that one coming! So we ordered what we wanted to have. I wanted to have a moose skin because a moose is the “King” of Sweden and we see them once in a while. I wanted to have a birch frame and that was a challenge! No birch frame to be found so I settled with a willow frame. That was great too because later we found out that moose eat willows. Unfortunately the delivery did not came in time so no drums where made during her visit. 

My friend found someone willing to teach her and her sister to make the drum. In the meantime my husband had business in The Netherlands and picked up the drum package so I could get started. Thanks to my procrastinating skills it took a while to start. So June 5th it was. The day before I put the skin in some water because it was very hard and I was surprised at how thick the skin was. I had turned the house upside down because I new I had a hole punch tool somewhere. Of course I could not find it and because I had my mind put to it, I bought another one so I could start making my drum. Now that I had gathered what I needed it was time to start. 

It wasn’t easy to punch the holes in the skinn and the sound of it was kind of nasty. There are several ways to go about it. You could go for 16 or 20 holes. I went for 20 and a made pair holes. Because the holes too long to make it I had to soak the skin again because it dried up. I had chosen one of the warmest days. Of course I did! With the holes in place I now could go to the next step. 

The threading and tension on the drum. You have to thread following a schedule. It al make sense and I enjoyed the rytm of the threading. I did take it out and do it again to see what I really wanted and looked good in my eyes. It is all very personal. And suddenly my drum was born! I found it relaxing and easy to do and enjoyed the whole proces. It took me about 4 hours to make the drum and I am soooo proud of myself. 

I got my drumstick from a tree that went down and moose had eaten from it. I thought that was fitting. The band around it I had made years ago and also fitting right onto the stick. The right length and color.