Featuring Tuned to Scale Tongue Drums Handcrafted by Steve Roberts International Ordering now made easy. Click Here for more information. Give Steve a call at 530 894-6349  steve@tonguedrum.com

Tutorial on Tongue Drums
(2 Min. Video 1.2MB)
A quick overview of the Tongue Drum

How Tongue Drums are Played

The Tongue Drum is tuned so that all notes are within a scale, a series of notes which fit together. This means you can't hit a "bad" note. It can be played with rubber mallets to lightly strike the tongues or the tongue drum can be played with the tips of your fingers. The longest tongue on the drum makes the lowest note in the scale.  Find the scale by playing from the longest note to the shortest (high) note. Two or more notes played in unison create harmonies and chords. Create songs by playing three or four notes in a repeated pattern creating a melody or motif. Add complexity by playing your pattern on other notes of the drum. Play one note repeatedly for a drone note effect and create a melody by playing other notes around it. Experiment! Try to remember the distinct note of each wood tongue or think of songs and melodies as patterns on the drum. If you are into writing music and songs, the melodies you come up with may surprise you.

Technique

The tongue drum is immediately enjoyable as an instrument that is tuned in a pleasing scale which makes beautiful sounds. But like all other instruments, the more you explore different ways of playing, the more proficient you will become. There are two basic methods used to play the tongue drum; with mallet and by hand. When playing with mallets, the size and weight of the mallet, as well as the hardness or softness of the mallet end, determine the sound produced. Hard mallet ends, such as wood-tipped mallets, produce a bright tone. Softer mallet ends, such as wound yarn or cotton, produce a more mellow sound. When playing by hand, your hand becomes the mallet. And on your hand, there are areas which are harder and softer. The side of the thumb, in the joint below the thumbnail, is a hard surface. And when quickly rapped against a tongue on the drum, will make a fairly bright sound. Conversely, the pad on the thumb or fingers, the opposite side of the nail, will make the soft mellow sound when struck against the tongue of the drum. And where the drums tongue is struck also determines the type of sound. For the fullest ring of the keys, play near to the very end of the key.  To emphasize the organic wood tone, play at the very base of the key. And tapping the key in the middle will produce a nice combination of both sounds.

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You're in good company when you purchase a Steve Roberts tuned-to-scale tongue drum. Here's what Tony Humecke, award-winning composer, performer, producer, and creative partner in Percussive Adventures 2, used extensively in the Hollywood film "Crash" had to say..... Hi Steve, Wow, the drum came Saturday and I couldn't be happier! It is fantastic sounding, and looks great too, but the sound is better than I expected.  In fact this one sounds better than a beautiful older one my wife has that I always thought was the best sounding drum I'd heard. Now it's a second to the one you sent. I will send people to your site whenever I can. And I hope I find a place for it in the new film I'm scoring. It's called "El Muerto". If you give me a mailing address I'd like to send you my latest soundtrack release from "Naked In Ashes". All the Best, Tony Humecke

 

Related Links:

Go to the William Ruiz official website and hear a sample of our Steve Roberts Tongue Drums being played by a Taino drummer. http://rhythmweb.com/peyman   Drumming from all over the World featuring Peyman Nasehpour on Ghaval Drums Tomás Howie Drumming Web    Download Drum Loops And Drum Samples @ DooleyDrums.com Acoustic drum loops and drum samples with free high quality .wav file previews. Music Loft - New, used and vintage guitars, drums, keyboards, bluegrass, band and orchestra instruments and accessories. Rivertown Recording Studio - The Midwest's most convenient recording studio. No job too big/small. Graphic/web design, music videos, & promotion too. Please rate my site at Music-Sites.net 10 - Best 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 - Worst www.tranquilflute.com   Inspired Native American Flute with CDs and Samples

Percussive Adventures 2 Click here to visit Soundsonline.com and find out  more about this incredible audio engine interface

Music Stores and Shops Call or Write for Price List

To place an order or to correspond through U.S. Mail, write to:  Tonguedrum.com, P.O. Box 8892, Chico, CA 95927  Need help selecting a tongue drum? Give Steve a call at 530 894-6349 You can now order by Credit Card over the phone

Halcyon Drum, Halcyon Drums, Halcyon Steel Tongue Drums, Halcyon Steel, Halcyon Tongue Drums, Halcyon 12, Halcyon Dome, Original 12 Key Steel Drum, The Original 12 Key Steel Drum, The Original 12 Key Tank Drum, The Original 12 Key Drum, The Original 12 Note Drum, are trademarks of Steve Roberts and tonguedrum.com, 2008, All Rights Reserved.