26/06/2026
Every drum has its own voice.
Some people collect guitars. Me? I collect drums.
Every one of them has its own beautiful voice, character and resonance.
I had an interesting experience recently while facilitating a large outdoor drum circle. I had over 30 drums with me, and when we finished, the van was parked quite a distance away. Some of the participants kindly helped carry everything back, and I was told all of the drums had been packed.
As I was securing the last of my kit, I could still hear one of my drums singing in the distance. The DJ was already playing, yet somehow I recognised its voice. I knew its resonance.
So I followed the sound and, sure enough, tucked away from where we’d been facilitating were two of my drums, happily being played by a group of children.
It made me smile. It also reminded me of when my children were little. Out of all the noise in the world, I could always recognise their cry.
Perhaps that’s why I feel such a connection with these drums.
Born from trees and animal hide, I experience them as carrying something of that life within them. They aren’t simply instruments to me; each has its own personality, voice and spirit. Together they form a community.
And that’s why I love using drums as a doorway to human connection.
Every person who sits with a drum brings their own heartbeat, their own story and their own energy. When their hands meet the skin, something unique happens. No two people ever play in exactly the same way, nor should they. We aren’t meant to sound alike.
The drum never asks us to become someone else.
It simply invites us to discover our own rhythm.
When the drums begin to sing together, something beautiful happens. They don’t compete. They listen, they respond, they support one another, creating something far greater than any one drum could create alone.
To me, that’s the true gift of drumming. The drum doesn’t simply create rhythm; it reminds us of our own. It gently calls us back into relationship with ourselves, with one another, and with the great rhythm of life.
❤️
