What is a tongue drum used for?
Steel tongue drums are used by sound healing practitioners, yoga teachers, music therapists and school teachers. Manastone drums can be used in combination with other instruments such as singing bowls, tablas, gongs, didgeridoos, and chimes.
What is tongue drum made of?
The tongue drum is of Aztec origin, also called log drum or tone drum. The slit drum is a similar log drum of African origin. Traditionally made from a hollowed log; the modern version is a wooden box with tongues cut into the top, played with mallets.
Why is it called a tongue drum?
The steel tongue drum gets its name from the slits cut into the steel to produce the notes. They are very much tongue-like in shape. Each tongue is unique in length, width, and depth in order to create different notes when struck by a finger or mallet when played.
Who invented tongue drum?
Dennis Havlena, an American, developed it through some ingenious experiments involving a propane gas tank! The principle is quite simple: cut the bottom off two tanks, weld them together, and then cut out the tongues, whose width and length define the note.
What is the history of the tongue drum?
Prehistory: Origins The steel tongue drum is actually based on the wooden slit drum. The slit drum seems to have developed independently with Aztecs, Africans, Indonesians and others cultures. More refinement came when tongues of specific pitches were cut and the drum became known as the wooden tongue drum.
What is another name for a tongue drum?
A tongue drum (also known as the steel tongue drum, hank drum or tank drum) is a percussion instrument in the idiophone family (instruments that create sounds through the vibration of the material itself without requiring strings, membranes, or external resonators).
What is the difference between a handpan and a tongue drum?
Steel Tongue Drums are usually smaller, but heavier than hand pans. They are made of thicker steel and resonate much longer than a Handpan. They have a meditative sound, but are less suitable for fast, percussive playing.
What is tongue drum scale?
C Major scale
Tongue drums with this pitch are normally tuned to the C Major scale. Other common pitches you might find with tongue drums are 440 Hz and 444 Hz.
How are tongue drums made?
A steel tongue drum can be made from an empty (often 20lb) propane tank. The tank is flipped over, the base cut/knocked off; and seven to ten tongues are cut radially into the bottom of the tank, forming the top of the instrument. Steel tongue drum can also be made from new unused tank heads.
Is a tongue drum the same as a hang drum?
What are the differences between a Tongue Drum and a Hang Drum / Handpan? The sounds of the tongue drum are very similar to those of another percussion: the Hang drum (also called handpan or hand pan). The manufacturing process is however totally different since it is tuned by hammering.
What is a tongue drum?
The tongue drum is a percussion instrument well-known for its relaxing sounds, intuitive playing and unique flying saucer look! You can play it with your hands or mallets, and it doesn’t require any musical or technical knowledge.
What is the history of the steel tongue drum?
History. The steel tongue drum had several predecessors, most notably the Whale Drum by Jim Doble and the Tambiro by Felle Vega. In February 2007 Dennis Havlena, inspired by the physical properties of the Tambiro and the tone layout of the Hang, created a steel tongue drum with a circular cross pattern layout and from an empty 20-pound propane…
What scale is a steel tongue drum tuned to?
The steel tongue drum is often tuned to pentatonic scales but can be tuned to the diatonic scale, the chromatic scale, or any set of notes the maker chooses. The instrument is played with the fingers or with mallets. The tone is bell-like. Problems playing this file?
What instruments does Havlena use in his drumming?
A tambiro, whale drum, hang drum and Caribbean steel drum. In 2007, Havlena cut the bottom of a propane tank off and then created a circular cross pattern on the bottom where he cut the “tongues” out in a radial fashion.