Drumming is the traditional accompaniment for shamanistic works. There is even some scientific evidence that the rhythmic low-pitched sounds elicit a sympathetic wave form in the practitioner's brain wave. There are three ways to do this:

  1. Have a friend beat a steady beat on a drum for an hour or so.

  2. Use a CD -- I frequently use a disk of Yoruba drumming, or one of Santaria drum beats.

  3. Use a computerized drum machine.

I usually favor #2 or #3 because I prefer to work alone. There are many drumming CDs available on Amazon and elsewhere. There are also a number of PC drum machines around. One that I use is PC Drummer. They have versions you can download for free. If you chose to go that route, here's a simple drum track for that program that I use myself: shaman1.PCD.

Alternatively, here it is in MP3 format: shaman1.mp3 (note that this is over 20 megs in size, so be patient).

Using the drum software has the advantage that you can easily adjust the duration by altering the number of repetitions of the basic pattern. Note that in these files, I change the beat for the last 5 minutes or so, in order to cue your subconscious that it's time to start returning from the trance. (See: The Shamanistic State of Consciousness)