Tag: Shamanic Drumming

Drum Articles, Portia Chapman

The Pharmacopoeia of Rhythm: The Frame Drum as a Tool for Natural Healing

Portia "Po" Chapman

By Portia “Po” Chapman BFAH, B.Ed. (Kingston Drum Maker and Artist in Community Education Specialist)

Beyond the Pharmacy: The Drum as an Ancient Instrument of Healing

In the modern world, we are accustomed to viewing medicine as something we ingest—a pill, a syrup, or a surgery. We tend to separate “healing” from “art.” However, for the vast majority of human history, these two fields were indistinguishable. Art was medicine, and the primary medical instrument was often not a scalpel, but a drum.

As a drum maker, I spend hours with the raw materials of the frame drum—white oak, deer hide, and sinew. When I stretch a skin over a frame, I am aware that I am constructing a musical instrument. But looking through the lens of history and emerging neuroscience, it becomes clear that I am also constructing a technological device designed for natural healing.

The frame drum is perhaps humanity’s oldest therapeutic tool. From the ancient healing rituals of the Tuva Republic to the modern clinical setting of trauma therapy, the drum has been used as a vehicle to transport the human body and mind from a state of disease (dissonance) to a state of ease (resonance). By exploring the historical philosophy and modern science of drumming, we can understand why this ancient instrument remains a potent force for natural healing today.

The Shamanic Tradition: Rhythm as a Bridge

To understand the healing power of the drum, we must first look to its roots in shamanism. In traditional hunter-gatherer societies, the shaman acted as the doctor, psychotherapist, and spiritual leader wrapped into one. Their primary tool for diagnosis and treatment was the frame drum.

Anthropologist Michael Winkelman, in his research on shamanism and neurotheology, argues that the drumming was not merely symbolic. It was a physiological technology used to induce “Altered States of Consciousness” (ASC). Winkelman posits that the repetitive, driving beat of the shaman’s drum—typically ranging from 3 to 6 beats per second—drives the brain into “theta” wave synchronization. This state, which lies on the border of sleep and wakefulness, allows the brain to integrate information, process emotion, and access deep states of relaxation that are conducive to healing (Winkelman 8-12).

In this historical context, the drum was the vehicle that allowed the healer to enter the “spirit world” to retrieve the patient’s lost soul or extract the spiritual cause of an illness. Philosophically, this establishes the drum as a bridge. It connects the physical body with the unseen, and the conscious mind with the subconscious. For the modern player, this ancient mechanic remains valid: the drum quiets the “chatter” of the analytical mind (Beta waves) and opens the door to a deeper, meditative state where natural healing can occur.

The Biology of the Beat: Tuning the Immune System

While ancient cultures explained healing in terms of spirits and energy, modern science is beginning to explain it in terms of biology and neurochemistry. The philosophy of “natural healing” often centres on the body’s innate ability to repair itself—a capacity that is frequently suppressed by modern stress.

One of the most significant studies bridging this gap was conducted by Dr. Barry Bittman and his team. Published in Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine, the study examined the biological effects of group drumming. The researchers found that after just one hour of group drumming, subjects showed a statistically significant increase in “Natural Killer” (NK) cell activity. NK cells are the white blood cells responsible for seeking out and destroying cancer cells and viruses (Bittman et al. 38-47).

This finding is profound for our understanding of the drum. It suggests that the act of drumming does not just make us “feel good” emotionally; it flips a biological switch. By reducing the stress response (cortisol) and stimulating the immune system, the drum acts as a biological regulator. It returns the body to a state of homeostasis. Philosophically, this validates the ancient view of the drum as a “healer.” The drum does not cure the disease from the outside; rather, it wakes up the body’s internal doctor to do the work.

Wiring the Brain: Rhythm and Trauma

Another fascinating dimension of the drum’s healing capacity is found in the field of trauma recovery. Dr. Bruce Perry, a leading expert on child trauma and the brain, has written extensively on how trauma impacts the brainstem—the primitive, regulatory part of the brain.

Perry explains that trauma disregulates the brainstem, leaving the individual in a persistent state of “fight or flight.” Talk therapy often fails to reach this deep, non-verbal part of the brain. However, “patterned, repetitive, rhythmic activity”—like drumming—can regulate the brainstem (Perry 23-25).

This aligns with the concept of “entrainment.” Just as a room full of pendulum clocks will eventually swing in unison, the human body entrains to the rhythm of a drum. The heart rate slows, respiration deepens, and the brainstem calms down. For survivors of trauma, the frame drum offers a non-verbal method of self-regulation. It is a form of somatic (body-based) healing that bypasses the need for words, allowing the nervous system to “reset” itself naturally.

The Communal Resonance

Historically, the frame drum was rarely played in isolation. It was an instrument of community. French sociologist Émile Durkheim described the concept of “collective effervescence”—a moment where a group of people, connected by ritual and rhythm, feel their individual selves dissolve into a greater whole.

In the context of natural healing, this social connection is vital. Isolation is a known risk factor for poor health, while social connection is a buffer against stress. A drum circle functions as a “social immune system.” When people drum together, they are not just making music; they are synchronizing their physical movements and their emotional states.

Dr. Michael Thaut, a pioneer in Neurologic Music Therapy, discusses how rhythm acts as a “temporal scaffold” for the brain (Thaut 120). In a group setting, this scaffold holds everyone together. For someone suffering from depression, anxiety, or grief, the drum circle provides a container where they can be “held” by the rhythm of others without the pressure of conversation. The drum becomes a vehicle for connection, curing the modern ailment of loneliness.

The Maker’s Reflection: Crafting the Medicine

As a maker, these perspectives shift how I approach the workbench. When I sand the rim of a drum or tighten the sinew, I am not just building a noisemaker. I am crafting a tool that has the potential to lower cortisol, increase immune function, and regulate the nervous system.

The “natural” in “natural healing” is doubly true for the frame drum. First, the materials are natural—wood from the earth, hide from the animal. Second, the mechanism of healing is natural—it relies on the body’s own response to rhythm. There are no side effects, only side benefits.

When we pick up a frame drum, we are tapping into a lineage of healing that stretches back to the dawn of humanity. We are using the same technology that our ancestors used to make sense of the cosmos and to heal their communities. Whether you are a professional musician or someone just looking for a way to unwind after work, the drum offers a path to wellness that is accessible, primal, and profoundly effective.

It reminds us that sometimes, the best medicine doesn’t come from a pharmacy. Sometimes, it comes from the steady, heartbeat rhythm of a hand on a drum.

Works Cited

Bittman, Barry B., et al. “Composite Effects of Group Drumming Music Therapy on Modulation of Neuroendocrine-Immune Parameters in Normal Subjects.” Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine, vol. 7, no. 1, 2001, pp. 38-47. ResearchGate, https://www.researchgate.net/publication/12059819_Composite_effects_of_group_drumming_music_therapy_on_modulation_of_neuroendocrine-immune_parameters_in_normal_subjects. Accessed 26 Dec. 2025.

Perry, Bruce D. “Resilience: Where Does It Come From?” Journal of Zero to Three: National Center for Infants, Toddlers and Families, vol. 26, no. 4, 2006, pp. 20-30. ChildTrauma Academy, https://www.childtrauma.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/Resilience_Where_Paper.pdf. Accessed 26 Dec. 2025.

Redmond, Layne. When the Drummers Were Women: A Spiritual History of Rhythm. Three Rivers Press, 1997.

Thaut, Michael H. “Neurologic Music Therapy in Cognitive Rehabilitation.” Music Perception, vol. 27, no. 4, 2010, pp. 281-285. University of California Press, https://online.ucpress.edu/mp/article-abstract/27/4/281/62657/Neurologic-Music-Therapy-in-Cognitive. Accessed 26 Dec. 2025.

Winkelman, Michael. “Shamanism and the Altered States of Consciousness: An Introduction.” Sacred Hoop, vol. 26, 2002, pp. 12-17. Arizona State University, https://public.asu.edu/~atmxw/shamanism-asc.html. Accessed 26 Dec. 2025.

Read more about my art and contact information at Love Art By Po and the many drums I make.
To contact me directly, please use this email:

📧 Portia@loveartbypo.ca

2 responses to “The Pharmacopoeia of Rhythm: The Frame Drum as a Tool for Natural Healing”

  1. Avatar
    Anonymous

    Oh my goodness I hope that God would allow this to work.

    Reply
    1. Portia "Po" Chapman Avatar
      Portia “Po” Chapman

      I didn’t really know of any science or research backing this before I thought that I’d look into it with the help of AI searches. I knew someone who was in a car accident years ago. He sustained traumatic brain/brainstem injury and he ended up losing much of his life to PTSD. About 10 years ago, he said that he heard in a dream to drum himself back to health. So he started drumming. Since then, he progressively found wellness in ways that every medical professional told him was impossible. Is it because of the drumming? He seems to think so.

      Reply

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Keep coming back to read more about Frame Drums and their contribution to life over ages.

This article was written in collaboration with Google Gemini.

Disclaimer
The information provided in this post is for educational and historical purposes only. You are encouraged to do your own additional research to confirm your understanding of the topic. This post is not medical advice. Always consult with your qualified healthcare practitioner or medical professional before embarking on a new healing or wellness journey.

Drum Articles, Portia Chapman

The Eternal Pulse: Why We Drum in the New Year with the Frame Drum

Portia "Po" Chapman

By Portia Chapman BFAH, B.Ed. (Kingston Drum Maker and Artist in Community Education Specialist)

As the clock approaches the midnight hour on December 31st, or as the sun rises on the lunar New Year, a specific sound begins to resonate across disparate cultures: the sharp, resonant “crack” of a hand striking a frame drum. From the frozen tundras of Siberia to the arid landscapes of North Africa and the bustling urban drum circles of the West, the frame drum—a simple wooden hoop covered with a membrane—is the preferred instrument for marking the transition of time.

Why is it that, across thousands of years and miles, the human species returns to this specific instrument to herald the New Year? Through a global cultural and historical perspective, the act of New Year’s drumming is revealed to be far more than a musical performance. It is a sophisticated ritual of liminality, a psychological tool for intention setting, and a sociological engine for communal synchronization. To drum in the New Year is to participate in the “Myth of the Eternal Return,” using rhythm to dissolve the old year and give birth to the new.

The Architecture of the Threshold: Liminality and the Beat

At the heart of New Year celebrations is the concept of liminality, a term popularized by ethnologist Arnold van Gennep and later Victor Turner. Liminality describes the “in-between” state—the threshold where the old identity has been shed but the new has not yet been formed. The New Year is the ultimate liminal moment in the human calendar.

Sociologically, the frame drum is the perfect tool for navigating this “gap in time.” Unlike melodic instruments that require complex cognitive processing, the steady, repetitive pulse of a frame drum (like the Irish bodhrán or the Persian daf) facilitates a state of “entrainment.” This rhythmic synchronization helps the human nervous system transition from the chaotic stress of the ending year to a state of focused presence. By drumming, participants physically inhabit the transition; the beat becomes a steady handrail through the void between the “now” and the “next.”

Apotheosis of Noise: Banishment and the Apotropaic Pulse

In many traditional cultures, the New Year is a dangerous time. In the folklore of Northern Europe, Central Asia, and the Mediterranean, the transition between years is when the “veil” between worlds is thinnest. Spirits, ghosts, and the “accumulated bad luck” of the previous twelve months are thought to linger.

Historically, frame drums have been used as apotropaic tools—objects intended to turn away evil. The loud, sudden percussive strikes of a drum are believed to shatter stagnant energy. In Shamanic traditions of Siberia and Mongolia, the frame drum is often referred to as the “shaman’s horse.” At the turn of the year, the shaman beats the drum to travel between worlds, purifying the communal space and “scaring off” the cold, malevolent spirits of winter.

This tradition survives in a secularized form in the West through the “noise-making” of New Year’s Eve. While modern party poppers and fireworks are the norm, the frame drum remains the choice for those seeking a more intentional banishment. The “crack” of the drum is a symbolic guillotine, cutting the ties to past failures and clearing the psychic field for a fresh start.

The Geometry of Time: The Drum as a Solar Symbol

The physical form of the frame drum—a perfect circle—is deeply symbolic of the New Year. In many Indigenous and ancient cultures, the drum represents the sun, the moon, and the cycle of the seasons.

In her seminal research, Layne Redmond noted that the frame drum was the primary instrument used in ancient Mediterranean sun-worshiping cultures. Because the New Year often coincides with the Winter Solstice (the “return of the sun”), the circular drum acts as a sympathetic magic device. By striking the round drum, the practitioner is “fueling” the sun, encouraging the return of light and warmth.

This solar symbolism is particularly potent in Nowruz, the Persian New Year. While celebrated at the Spring Equinox, Nowruz is a “New Day” that relies heavily on the daf (the Kurdish/Persian frame drum). The daf, with its metal rings, creates a shimmering, sun-like sound. When played at the turn of the year, it mirrors the light of the sun and the movement of the cosmos, aligning the individual’s internal rhythm with the astronomical New Year.

Communal Resonance: Starting the Year in Sync

From a sociological perspective, the most vital function of New Year’s drumming is the creation of Social Synchrony. In his work The Myth of the Eternal Return, Mircea Eliade explains that humans have a deep-seated need to periodically “reset” time to its beginning. This reset is most effective when done collectively.

When a community drums together on New Year’s Day, they are engaging in a “collective effervescence.” By sharing a common pulse, the social frictions of the previous year are smoothed over. You cannot drum in a circle with others without eventually falling into rhythm with them. This “entrainment” creates a sense of unity and shared purpose.

“To drum together is to agree on a common heartbeat. At the start of a year, this agreement serves as a non-verbal social contract: we will move through the coming challenges in time with one another.” — Summary of rhythmic sociological theory.

In modern urban settings, the “New Year’s Day Drum Circle” has become a popular secular ritual. It replaces the passive consumption of entertainment with the active production of community. For participants, the significance lies in the physical sensation of the group pulse, which provides a psychological foundation of support for the year ahead.

The Pulse of Intention: The Somatic Resolution

Finally, the frame drum is used in the New Year for Mastery and Agency. New Year’s resolutions are often fragile because they are purely mental constructs. Drumming, however, is a somatic (body-based) practice.

For many modern practitioners, drumming in the New Year is an act of “audible intention.” Instead of writing a list of goals, the drummer “plays” their intention. A heavy, grounded beat might represent a desire for stability; a fast, complex rhythm might represent a desire for growth and excitement.

Psychologically, this is a form of active imagination. As the drummer strikes the skin, they are physically manifesting their will into the world. In the silent space that follows a drum session on New Year’s morning, there is a profound sense of “completion.” The old year has been beaten out, the new pulse has been established, and the individual stands at the center of their own circle, ready for the next rotation of the wheel.

Conclusion

The frame drum persists as a New Year’s instrument because it is the most efficient technology we possess for managing the human experience of time. It provides the noise necessary to banish the past, the rhythm necessary to navigate the liminal present, and the communal pulse necessary to face the future.

Whether it is the bendir of a Moroccan village or a tar in a Los Angeles living room, the beat remains the same. It is the sound of the human heart asserting itself against the vastness of time. As the first beats of the New Year ring out, they remind us that while the years may change, the pulse—the fundamental rhythm of life—is eternal.

Works Cited

Eliade, Mircea. The Myth of the Eternal Return: Cosmos and History. Princeton University Press, 1954 (Reprint 2005). https://press.princeton.edu/books/paperback/9780691123585/the-myth-of-the-eternal-return

Redmond, Layne. When the Drummers Were Women: A Spiritual History of Rhythm. Three Rivers Press, 1997. https://www.layneredmond.com/when-the-drummers-were-women

Turner, Victor. The Ritual Process: Structure and Anti-Structure. Aldine Transaction, 1969 (Reprint 2008). https://www.routledge.com/The-Ritual-Process-Structure-and-Anti-Structure/Turner/p/book/9780202011431

Van Gennep, Arnold. The Rites of Passage. University of Chicago Press, 1960. https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/R/bo3634125.html

Winkelman, Michael. “Shamanism as the Original Neurotheology.” Zygon: Journal of Religion and Science, vol. 39, no. 1, 2004, pp. 193-217. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1467-9744.2004.00566.x

This educational article was written and researched with the assistance of Gemini. You are encouraged to further research for more information on this topic.

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