Connecting With Nature Through Music: Make & Play a Pow-Wow Drum

I’ve shared all sorts of ways to connect with nature since starting this blog. But what about music? Before The Little Explorer came on the scene, we didn’t devote that much attention to creating songs or making music with nature. These days, that’s all changing.

But I’m still no expert on the subject. So I invited someone who knows a thing or two about music and nature to stop in for a chat. Welcome to Ms. Daria Marmaluk-Hajioannou, an award-winning children’s performer who has traveled the globe to share music that inspires, empowers and is just plain fun.

Have you ever listened to a really big drum? Or visited a pow-wow and heard the type of large drums that are played by a group seated in a circle? If you have, you know that they can sound like the roar of thunder during a lightning storm or can be played quietly like the gentle beating of a heart. (And if you haven’t, take a listen to a pow-wow drum song here.)

Listening to The Sounds Of Nature
When I first learned to drum, my teacher used a rather odd approach. He told me to sit quietly at sunset with my drum and my beater and just listen. When I heard a sound in nature, I was allowed to play the pattern of that activity on my drum. I quickly learned to identify and tap out bird calls. I heard singing frogs chorus to one another and played that on my drum. I beat out the sound of deer running across the field and leaping into the woods. I found that rubbing the beater on the drum head made the wooshing sound of the wind or running water. I could reflect so many things from the natural world in my music just by playing the drum in a certain way.

Make Your Own Pow-Wow Drum
Creating your own version of a pow-wow drum and drumming is a great outdoor activity whether you’re in your own backyard, a local park or deep in the wilderness with your friends.

If you want to make an easy version of a pow-wow drum, you can do what the earliest inhabitants of our land did. According to Native American historian Tom Bee, the first drum was probably only a cloth or skin carried while traveling or hunting and stretched between the hands of those who would play it. Instead of an animal skin, you can substitute a tarp or piece of sturdy cloth you’ve recycled or found at a craft store.

Make Your Own Natural Beater
Next, you’ll need a special stick to strike the drum, called a beater. If you want to create a natural beater, find a strong stick in the woods. Take a small amount of cloth or electrical tape and wrap it around one end. If you’re using tape, simply wrap it over itself and it will stay in place. If you are using cloth; finish wrapping, then cover the end with a small square or circle of cloth, suede or leather and tie it into place to create the “head” of the beater.

If you prefer to use a wooden dowel, chopstick or unsharpened pencil, you can wrap one side with electrical tape creating the head and then decorate it as you see fit. You can color with permanent markers, add yarn, feathers or other decoration.

Playing Together
A pow-wow drum is played in unison – everyone hitting the surface at the same time. Even if you are playing on a tarp or piece of cloth, you can still create an amazing sound when you play together with a group of your friends or family. However, playing all together, exactly at the same time can be a bit tricky to master. Here is a fun way to practice.

Choose a drum leader and a song everyone knows. It can be as easy as the ABC Song or “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star.” The leader begins and sets the beat and everyone else must play along in exactly the same way, following as best they can. When the singing part of the song is over, the leader can go on with the beat as long as they want and everyone must follow what they do (speed up, slow down, etc.) and end at precisely the same time. When the leader is done, he or she hands off their role to another person around the drum. The new leader picks a song and the musical game continues.

Sharing Your Love of Nature Through Music
What can you sing about with your drum? Feel free to make up your own songs. Sing about the creatures that inspire you or about a special animal in your life such as a loyal dog, a warm and caring cat or a funny ferret. Create new instruments out of natural or recycled materials to add to your music-making. Or maybe even make a video about ways that people can help to preserve nature or take care of our Mother Earth.

If you start with a big heart and a big drum, you’ll surely discover a wonderful outdoor activity as well as make some beautiful music that will inspire everyone around you!

For even more music craft ideas for kids, head over to Daria’s site.

Award-winning children’s performer, DARIA (Daria Marmaluk-Hajioannou) has seven CDs that have won national honors. She has the most awesome job of traveling the world to sing for kids and peace. Her website (dariamusic.com) was given a 2009 Parents Choice Award for its rich variety of music and cultural content.

All photos courtesy of Daria Marmaluk-Hajioannou.