Drums are the oldest music instrument created by humans. Before people developed skin-covered drums, they were already using other percussion instruments.
Our ancestors beat on objects or stomped on the ground to produce rhythmic sounds for dancing, ceremony and communication. The oldest drum yet discovered was made from alligator skin 5500 BC in China.
If you have participated in a drum circle you will know how drumming unifies people in much the same way as singing does. Drumming lifts the spirits and builds a sense of community.
The 2024 Olympic Games in Paris ended with a spectacular ceremony after the final medal presentation. The lights dimmed and lasers swept the stadium dramatically. Gradually a steady drum beat filled the huge auditorium. Percussion alone set the tone for the elaborate ceremony of movement and lights that ended the international games … illustrating to me the enormous effect that drumming has to unify and inspire.
First Nations drums hold similar power for me. One summer while working in The Battlefords, I heard powwow drums echoing across the river. The steady beat was at the same time frightening and exciting.
The first percussive sound we hear is the beat of our mother’s heart. The steady beat of a hand drum has the same capacity to sooth or inspire.
It’s said we all march to a different drum beat, but the opposite is true, as well. Drums have the ability to unify our actions, whether it be for dancing or marching off to war. Around the world and throughout history we are connected by the lub-dub drumming of the human heart.
