The Shamanic Drum: A Guide To Sacred Drumming

The contents are well written…but it doesn’t share any techniques on how to drum…which is what I was most interested.

I enjoyed this short book and found the instructions short, simple and practical and perfect for the novice wanting to experiment with drumming for journeying as there is nothing complicated here. Again, these are brief instructions so don't expect any deep explanations about how to drum or the lore and spirituality surrounding drumming. I purchased the Kindle e-book version since I wanted to read it right away and the price as reasonable. This is more in the neo-shamanism vein. The author incorporates cross cultural beliefs and practices into this book. Along with the drumming instruction the author recounts some of his own journeys. He writes briefly about conducting a drumming circle. There are a couple things I would disagree with. One is his relation of the chakras to colors of visions in the journey. If, for example, your vision contains more violet (crown chakra) he feels it is a higher vibration of spiritual level than if the vision contains more reds (base chakra). Colors can mean many things and also should be taken in one's own cultural context. Drake says himself that visions are colored by our individual experiences and culture so why would you limit the interpretation in such a way? Overall though I enjoyed this book and thought it was a nice drumming intro for novices. I notice there is a instructional CD  The Shamanic Drum Instructional , but the directions in the book are enough to get anyone started as there is nothing particularly complicated about shamanic drumming.

I expected a book which explained the fundamentals of shamanic drumming but I got much more than that. Just as 'The Art of Motorcycle Maintenance' has little to do with motorcycling or maintaining them, this book explains more about Shamanism than it does about drumming although it also does an excellent job of revealing the integral part that drumming plays in Shamanic practice.The author, Michael Drake, is an accomplished musician as well as a dedicated Shaman. He writes in a style that is pleasant to read and connects his points in a logical manner. I would have rated this 5 stars if he had included a CD with some examples of Shamanic drumming. He has released a few CD's but they all include other instrumentation to give them a pop-jazz feeling. I would like to hear only shamanic drumming with no frills which are intended to make it more acceptable to non-shaman listeners.Michael, how about a pure shamanic drumming CD?

I wish I had bought this book first b/c he lays it out like no other. No new age bs just straight talk.In 25+ of studying metaphysics I have not heard journeying explained like Michel does. I also have the kindleversion as well. I just bought one of his other books. If your looking to learn about Shamanic drumming get thisbook first. You won't need any others. He has a awesome blog and youtubes of drumming.Highly recommend Michael Drake's book, CD's.FYI Shamanic drumming is actually a meditation exercise. If you have had a hard timemeditating you might want to read this book and look up one of Micheal's CD's or youtubes.I was very inspired to make my own drum after reading his book.The drum make it easier for your mind to go to the place it needs to meditate or journey asits called in Shamanism.Highly recommend this book. Would give 100+ stars if I could!

Tough I found some of the terminology confusing it soon became my favorite reference book on shamanism. Once I read it all the way through I had no trouble drawing upon the basic tenants of practice necessary to learn Michael Drake's techniques. I found it thoroughly informative and interesting really focusing on the fundamentals of drumming. This book should be on every beginners bookshelf.

I thoroughly enjoyed the imagery presented in this book. The journeys of the soul were mesmerizing. The guidance for drumming was most useful. The songs presented were short, easy to remember, and inspiring. I was a little put off at the end when the author seems to imply that the book is more for the use of Native Americans (although I have some Cherokee ancestry) and not for people of other descents.

I really enjoyed (and am still enjoying) this book. I was very much looking forward to adding shamanic drumming to my spiritual practices and this book has really started me off in the right direction.I really enjoy the fact that the Author shares stories from many traditions and goes into the ancestral roots of drumming and also delves a bit into the science.This book will long be a valued part of my library and my life.

It is a very good book

The book was exactly what I was looking for - an excellent introduction into shamanic drumming. Clear, thought-provoking and inspiring. Highly recommended to anyone who wants to connect to themselves and the Earth in a deeper way.

A compact but accurate and helpful guide on shamanic journeying and drumming. The writing style is excellent and every page is packed with information. Excellent

A clearly written concise book.How to do it if you choose.I enjoyed it a lot.

This is an excellent book that provides a very workable manual, packed with practical knowledge, information and exercises. I was looking for good, authentic shamanic information to incorporate into my own shamanic practices plus ways of weaving this into my drum birthing workshops, I found all I was searching for and more in this book. Definitley recommend to others as a must have book. Thank you :)

I recently bought an Indian shamanic drum and wanted to know the benefits of drumming, this is a very insightful book and thought provoking while being easy to follow..many interesting aspects to tribal drums we all could do with knowing about and also how we can help the planet in a gentle way