Steel Tongue Drum

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round blue metallic object with slits cut in the middle

The steel tongue drum is basically a bowl-shaped piece of steel with strips, or “tongues”, cut out in the middle. Each tongue produces a unique pitch (depending on the length of the tongue) when hit with a mallet or finger. The most remarkable aspect of this instrument is its tone quality. The penetrating yet rounded tones makes it perfect for sound baths, meditation, and therapeutic benefits.

How to Obtain

There are many variations in the size and shape, as well as how many notes the drum can play. Hapi is a popular domestic brand, but I recommend first searching Etsy for a seller and design that is right for you.

How to Learn

Steel tongue drums can be played with soft pitched percussion mallets, or with the bare hands (possibly using special finger pads). It is a great instrument to improvise on to create meditative or background music. The timbre of the instrument makes it difficult for any two notes to clash with each other, so you can improvise beautiful background music without needing to develop much skill.

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