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Start adding a tenth or eleventh note and the list lengthens further. There are of course a limited number of scales, but with different styles of tongue drum and sound, it lengthens.Īs an example, just one of the tongue drums on my recommended gear page is available in 33 different scale configurations. The list is not endless but it’s pretty long with some scales very close to others. What Scales are Available on Tongue Drums? For that reason, they are best played with mallets. The smaller instruments are difficult o play with the fingers too, due to the accuracy required and slightly harder strike needed to get the sound. There are smaller versions of the tongue drum, these have fewer notes as a result of being smaller. Steel tongue drums can come in various scales, the choice of which is down to your personal preference. Most tongue drums are created with 8/9 notes – As discussed the notes are created by the tongue-shaped slits cut into the upper section of the steep pan. This is quite different than you would find on other definite pitch percussion instruments like the Xylophone, Marimba or indeed the piano where the pitch rises and falls on the keys from left to right in succession.įor more details on ‘definite pitch’ percussion, refer to this guide I wrote on the various types of pitched percussion instruments. The notes are arranged in the same way as you would find on a handpan with each note either going up or down the scale (depending on which way you have it placed) from left to right across the head of the instrument. mainly tuned to a diatonic scale, this means that each note will sound good with the one played prior or after. Tuned to a diatonic scale they are very easy to make music with, even for absolute beginners with no musical knowledge. It is an instrument within the percussion family, however, and produces notes played on the slits created in the top section of the steel case. What does a tongue drum do?Ī Steel Tongue drum is an instrument although not actually a drum by definition. The tongue drum has become so popular just recently that it has overtaken ‘handpan’ as a search term on google. Both Tongue drums, but rarely referred to as such. Some manufacturers are creating tongue drums but very much branding their instruments, such as the Rav vast and Guda.
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You can see the tongue style slits in this ‘Rav Vast’ drum.