The membrane of a shamanic drum is made of natural animal skin, and from time to time it needs care to prevent it from drying out — much like the skin on our hands.
I treat every new drum I make with burdock oil. My main goal is to maintain the flexibility of the membrane. The flexibility of the skin also affects the character of the sound. For a shamanic drum, I want a deep, low and sustained tone.
How often, really
If a drum is mostly used indoors, with stable temperature and humidity, the initial oil treatment can last for a very long time. I have drums that I treated once after making them and have never needed to oil again.
It is different with the drums I regularly use outdoors. Moisture, rain, heat, cold, temperature changes, and especially repeated warming near a fire all affect the natural skin over time. I may oil these drums two or three times a season.
So I don’t have a rule like “once a month” or “once a year.” You can see and feel when the membrane needs another treatment. My goal is to keep the skin flexible and prevent it from drying out.
This is not a rule for every drum
At the same time, there is no single rule for every drum with a natural skin membrane. For example, many makers and musicians do not recommend applying oil to a djembe membrane. A djembe has a different construction, much higher skin tension, and a different principle of sound production. Different drums require different properties from their membranes.
Here I am talking specifically about shamanic drums. Over the years of making them, I have observed how natural skin behaves when it is new, after years of use, and after exposure to heat, moisture, cold, and repeated warming near a fire. Treating the membrane with burdock oil has become part of how I make and care for my drums.
The skin is only part of the sound
Of course, the character of the sound depends on more than just the condition of the skin. How the membrane is prepared and stretched over the frame in the first place makes a huge difference.
I show how I prepare natural skin and stretch it over the frame in detail, step by step, in my drum-making masterclass.