How Much Should I Spend on a Steel Tongue Drum?

[@gaasyendietha5070]

Best explanation ever for a non music background first buyer

[@musicalmiscellany]

I appreciate that feedback. It's exactly why I created this video.

[@PerkyPL]

This video finally answered my questions about pentatonic scale tuned drums 🎉 thanks 🙏

[@musicalmiscellany]

Happy to help! I make these videos hoping they help someone so I really appreciate the comment.

[@NeaBarman]

One of the best explanations on how to choose a hanpan. Thank you.

[@musicalmiscellany]

Thanks for checking it out. I make vids like this hooping they're helpful to someone so I really appreciate that.

[@NeaBarman]

@@musicalmiscellany thank you. just ordered my first one so lets see how it goes. Will check your other videos too. So the most useful part was the thing where you advice how I am playing the dum (freely or with melody).

[@musicalmiscellany]

@@NeaBarman Enjoy your first drum.

[@toni2606]

The Asmuse was my first drum, was $125 two years ago. No regrets, it is a good quality drum. When I watched a review of the Rav Vast I was enchanted with the G Pygmy. It is fabulous! Then upon listening to various tunings of Kosmosky drums I decided I couldn't resist the Tritone in A-minor. Those drums are quite heavy and the 12" Tritone is as heavy as I would be comfortable with. The dvutones are mesmerizing! Thank you for this video. 😊🎶🎵

[@musicalmiscellany]

Thanks for watching and it sounds like you're amassing a great collection of drums. I really appreciate your insight.

[@moragnoffke3330]

Very helpful, thank you

[@musicalmiscellany]

I appreciate the comment. I always hope these videos are helpful to someone else.

[@robertstapleton4394]

Thanks for explaining why the premium models so much more expensive with the different scales and so forth. For Christmas, I got an inexpensive one (under $40) and since I'm just a home hobbyist, it works great for me.

[@musicalmiscellany]

Thanks for watching. A perfect example of why one size doesn't fit all. I'm glad you found a drum that works for you.

[@dougmoench9233]

Very good overview. I was really wondering about this very thing. Thanks for the video.

[@musicalmiscellany]

Glad it was helpful! I make these kinds of vids hoping it helps someone. Thanks for checking it out.

[@garydesrosiers5692]

Hi Kale, thanks for another great video, i found it very informative, learned a few things about these drums,if i ever decided to get one i'll think about what you said 👍

[@musicalmiscellany]

Thanks Gary. I always hope my videos are helpful to somebody. I really appreciate the comment.

[@radixreuel7631]

Nice chill enthusiasm & informative without over load. Brevity is music to my ears ✨

[@musicalmiscellany]

Glad you enjoyed it! It's always a challenge to figure out how many details to include without including too much. Thanks for the feedback. That's helpful to me.

[@k.silberberg5137]

Now that is helpful. Thanks.

[@musicalmiscellany]

@@k.silberberg5137 thanks for watching. I really appreciate the feedback.

[@RelaxingMusic-xy4jl]

A very good and beautiful instrument, no matter whether you hit the drum sticks or improvise hand beats, you can't forget the beautiful sound

[@musicalmiscellany]

Thanks for checking out the video. I would have to agree. The sound of a steel tongue drum is very pleasing.

[@basskilla3050]

This was quite helpful in determining the best purchase of drums like these. I'm a multi-instrumentalist, so I've always wanted to push the boundary by playing a tongue drum to accompany my musical compositions I've written. It makes more sense to buy a drum according to how you will use it. Different drums have different scales, which is quite important to know. I've already purchased a 120.00 drum and I'm now looking a little further down the road on buy a tongue pan....(The sustain on those things are AMAZING!!!!!!) Anyhow, I APPRECIATE YOU FOR POSTING THIS CLIP!!!! WISH ME LUCK!!!!! 😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁

[@musicalmiscellany]

Good luck. I’m sure you’ll love it. Thanks for checking out the video. I’m so glad it was helpful.

[@koumis1111]

Amazing job mate!! Genuinely trying to help people 🤝

[@musicalmiscellany]

Thanks for watching and leaving that comment. I make these videos hoping they help someone.

[@ontovictory-alacumba]

Great video--cleared up a great deal for me!

[@musicalmiscellany]

Thanks for the comment. I made this video hoping it helped somebody so I really appreciate that feedback. Good luck with your purchase.

[@ccturner8224]

Thank you for your video. I wish I had seen this earlier as I've already ordered mine. For sound healing in my practice. I believe I ordered the proper drum but I could have.just as easily gotten the wrong one!

[@musicalmiscellany]

Thanks for checking out the video. I hope it was helpful. Good luck with your new drum.

[@SenseiEli]

Very good explanation 👍!! Thank you very much. I would like to use such a drum to do shavasana in the end of Karate lesson... Slow easy calm music... And I don't know much about drums 🥁.

[@musicalmiscellany]

I'm glad the video was helpful. Thanks for checking it out. If you're wanting to do improv like that, you're probably best buying a drum in a pentatonic scale. Something like an Akebono scale will have a very eastern feel. Good luck.

[@peelingoffthelayers]

Thank you.

[@musicalmiscellany]

Thanks for checking it out. I hope the video was helpful.

[@jahmallajaima]

Some months ago I decided I wanted to get a tongue drum and I was wanting one right away. As of today I still haven’t got one. I’ve been watching videos hoping It help me pick one that would work for me. As of today haven’t found one. It’s still confusing to me. I started off wanting to spend around $40 and maybe an 8” , then I thought a 10”. Now I’m thinking a 12”’ would be better and increased the amount to about $70. But I have have to decide whether to get one with 11 notes or ( I forget the other number)This pentatonic thing etc adds to the confusion. I asked someone at the music store about them. From what he said the deeper ones compared to the UFO ones would have a bit more bassy sound which I prefer to the tinny sound. It seems like you get more tinny sounds with the smaller ones like the 6”, 8”. Doesn’t help that there’s no place here in Hawaii that carries them for me to check out. I’m so frustrated. I started thinking maybe I should up my budget and pay closer to $200 for one. Esthetics is important to me. Color is super important to me. Purple being my favorite color. But I then decided I’d like to get one that has a design on them. I like the ohm symbol, Buddha etc. then there’s the multicolor ones that are also beautiful. I found many on Etsy. Think the least expensive ones were about $180. Kosmotogy ( something like that) have nice ones but cost more. So I’m thinking maybe best to get cheaper one then down the line if I still am enjoying it buy a more expensive one. But the sound is important and I’m a very visual person so I love things that are beautiful. I want to use it in my meditation room as part of my meditation practice, spiritual practice. I don’t want to play songs or play with other instruments. I saw someone write “ ethereal” sound in one comment. Maybe that word fits. Anyway you can help me figure what to get.? One thought is watch peoples videos when they play the different ones and tell them which is the one that sounds good and maybe they can help me find one within my price range.

[@musicalmiscellany]

Well hopefully this video was helpful to you. It sounds like you've put a lot of thought into this venture and - believe it or not - I think you know what you want. However, it's a crowded market so it seems overwhelming. Due to the fact that you're wanting to use the drum for meditation and not to cover familiar tunes, I wouldn't recommend any of the mass-produced drums. You'll want a meditative scale and you might even want to look at a 432 Hz tuning. The first thing that comes to mind is the 10" Mini Vibedrum. They're about $200 and they offer free shipping to the US (I think that includes HI). They have a really cool blue/purple sparkle finish called Stardust that I think you'll like. They also offer all their scales (desert, freya, cosmic) in 432 Hz so it seems perfect for your needs. Additionally, Vibedrums staff are very helpful so you can contact them with questions. vibedrums.com/02c_mini-vibedrum.html As you mention, Kosmosky would also be a good company to look at, they too have some drums tuned at 432 Hz and some beautiful finishes. Based on what I'm reading, I think these should be your top things to look for: 1) meditative (non-major) scale, 2) 432 Hz tuning option, 3) beautiful finish that speaks to you, 4) 10-12" size, 5) price between $150-250.

[@jahmallajaima]

@@musicalmiscellany Thank you for responding. Any way you could come to Hawaii and then you could tell me from ones I look at which would be good. . Or any way I could email you some of da ones I’m looking at? Honestly it gives me anxiety trying t9o figure it out. Like this 432 Hz thing. I don’t know if the listings would have that on there. A lot of the ones I looked at was on Etsy. A lot of those were a little less then $200. Honestly I didn’t really want to spend more then $100 but I figured I’d have to spend more to get something close to what I’d like. I think it’s the thing that i order one for around that price and it’s not quite what I like. Some of the listings on Etsy had links for you tube where you could hear that particular tongue drum however the links aren’t in blue so can’t click on it. Think I’ll message sellers to ask about that. What would really help is if there were stores here that sold a good amount of them but none of the music stores here carry them. So let me know if it’s a possibility that I could email, forward you the ones I’m considering. Mahalo.

[@jamesmichael20910]

If looking to use this for meditative purposes, you probably want pentatonic (as opposed to hexatonic), and maybe in a MINOR scale. Listen to various scales to find out which suits you best. The larger the drum, the louder the sound. You can listen to the various scales on Kosmosky's website. ManaStone's website has virtual drums which you can play on your computer or phone (it's super neat). In my opinion, Kosmosky has the most beautiful drums, and the beauty of the instrument has an effect on the whole experience, in my opinion. I have a 12-inch Kosmosky in D-Minor pentatonic (Celtic Tree design). All of their drums are absolutely beautiful and worth every penny.

[@jahmallajaima]

@@jamesmichael20910 Hi think I’m gonna have to up my price. Was listening to Kosmosky drums today , had listened to them before. They are real nice . And the video I watched today had wood and metal tongue drums. First time I’d ever heard of tongue drums made with wood. Really nice sound. Problem is if I order a drum pay shipping and don’t like and need to return I need to pay for shipping back. Increases the price. What I like about Amazon is I can return without paying shipping. They do have some kosmosky drums but not sure they have the wood ones. What do you think of the freeze bee.? He was talking about the esthetics of the drums. It’s definitely important to me as I’m very visual, so first the color is a big factor but I realized if I could get one in a nice color ( or combo of colors ) with a beautiful design on it mo better. I really like da ones with om symbols, Aztec design.. A few times I’ve listened to some that have Akebono, itsounded good. They said it was Japanese and for meditation , something like that. I do like the low notes.

[@ChrisJohnson-yw2ky]

I own an $80, 13 note tongue drum tuned to C Major. I'm not that familiar with music theory, but there is a C Major Pentatonic scale contained within the C Major scale. These notes are C, D, E, G and A and correspond with the numbered tongues of 1, 2, 3, 5 and 6. I find that when I play these notes exclusively on my drum, it creates a beautiful, harmonized sound. So the nice thing is that, for my own hobbyist purposes, I have a drum that can play most songs that reach across 2 octaves, and I can also play improvisational music. Win win in my opinion. Does anyone have any suggestions or objections to this theory?

[@musicalmiscellany]

It does become a personal preference at some point and what you stated about using a sub-set of the scale is obviously correct. If that works for you... by all means go for it. To illustrate why someone might be interested in a different scale, let's use the Asmuse drum I showed in the video as an example. The company offers that drum in both major and pentatonic versions. Both versions have 8 tongues. The major version covers exactly one octave. The pentatonic version covers about an octave and a half. This means if you playing within that pentatonic scale, you get 6 'playable' notes on one drum and 8 on the other. It's only 2 notes... but those two extra notes can add a lot of possibilities to your improv. That's the logic anyway. Thanks for watching the video and starting the discussion.

[@ChrisJohnson-yw2ky]

@@musicalmiscellany Yes thank you. I see what you are saying, that makes more sense to me now. There are more unique notes in a pentatonic scale as opposed to just more notes in a higher tune on a major scale. I am looking at the Asmuse as we speak and it seems like good bang for buck. The problem I run into with playing songs on the major scale drum is that the notes that don't mix start to overlap and it sounds pretty ugly honestly. It's like playing the wrong note on a chord. On the piano I have the choice to sustain certain notes but this really leaves me with no other option. Maybe there's a way to dampen that overlap? If not, I think I will purchase the Asmuse because even the most beautiful songs on the major scale don't sound too nice. Thank you for helping out so much on the consumer side of things. Really streamlines decision making.

[@musicalmiscellany]

@@ChrisJohnson-yw2ky Unfortunately, there isn't really a way to control the sustain on a steel tongue drum (other than pressure of course). That can be frustrating but it also give them their unique sound. A song always sounds different when covered on one of these babies.

[@petercane6376]

The sound of the cheaper$99 drum is by far leagues ahead of the red one costing four times more. So...I think we need to think twice. You deffo do ( not) get what you pay for with the red one. I think the best idea is ti listen to drum you tubes and if you like a particular sound buy it. Or better still go to the shop and try one. You will know instantly what you " need" to spend and not what you " want" to spend.

[@musicalmiscellany]

@@petercane6376 thanks for watching

[@andyjreyes]

Hi there, thanks for a great and informative video. I do have a question for you: I want a 15 note steel drum for playing known songs in the key of c. I might bridge into improvising one day, but my current goal is to play songs that other people recognize. You mentioned that there were some higher end diatonic drums in the key of c or d. But you didn't seem to mention any particular brand. Could you recommend a couple of drums that might fit what I'm looking for? The current drum I have cost about $60 on Amazon but I want to upgrade. Thank you!

[@musicalmiscellany]

Thanks for checking out the video. Zen Percussion (Guda Drum) makes some drums tuned to a major scale as does VibeDrums. Typically speaking, if you find a boutique drum that you like, they'll take special requests. So you might be able to contact any of the manufacturers on Etsy and ask them if they'd be willing to make a drum tuned to a major scale. Most of those boutique manufactures tune their drums to exotic scales because that's what their customers are looking for but they can just as easily make it in a major key if you ask. Good luck.

[@timcullinane7455]

My hearing in my right ear is not great. I have a tongue drum and enjoy it. Would it be worth getting a more expensive drum. What do you think

[@musicalmiscellany]

Thanks for checking out the video. Hopefully the video gave you some things to think about. I think everyone needs to make their own decision about how much to spend.

[@feblolli]

Thank you for the video. I am a beginner and would like to play both known songs and improv. What should I get? I got one that is about 100$ but I find that it does not sound that good with the improv. Thanks.

[@musicalmiscellany]

Thanks for checking out the video. As you point out, something tuned in a major scale doesn't typically work all that well for improv (and vice-versa). Therefore, you'll probably want a drum for each purpose. One for improv and one for covers. I hope that helps.

[@YouzTube99]

Well presented! But I'm left wondering why pentatonic drums necessarily cost more than tuned majors (01:00)? Unless I'm missing something, tuning differently shouldn't increase manufacturing costs at all.

[@musicalmiscellany]

Thanks for checking out the video. You are correct in your assessment but it's a bit more nuanced. The catch is that the vast majority of the mass-produced drums are tuned in major scales. There are certainly mass-produced drums tuned in pentatonic scales (I show one at 4:00 and ironically it's the least expensive drum in this vid) but far less of them are made. Likewise, botique manufacturers like VibeDrum offer drums tuned in a major scale (and there's no difference in price from their more exotic scales). So it's not that the tuning method defines the price, rather that the surplus of drums on the market are tuned to major scales so they tend to be cheaper. I hope that made sense.

[@YouzTube99]

@@musicalmiscellany Thanks for the clarification. So, the market simply acknowledges that more people want to play 'Twinkle twinkle' than improvise. I incorrectly assumed that those who are interested in alternate percussion instruments would prefer improv. Interesting that a middle of road sensibility applies to that as well.

[@musicalmiscellany]

@@YouzTube99 You got it, but it's even more nuanced that that. LOL. If you go back 20 years or so, these drums were only available from boutique manufacturers and were primarily intended for improv, relaxation, sound healing, etc. Then they started to become popular. All of a sudden, there was demand... so a bunch of manufacturers jumped on board seeing a potential market. However, marketing an improv instrument to a non-musician is difficult so they went with the "you can play happy birthday on this thing" approach. Thus the influx of major scales on steel tongue drums.

[@zoohuman]

You can improvise with any notes, any scale, any instrument, anything! 🤨

[@musicalmiscellany]

Agreed. There's no reason you can't improv on a major scale or play familiar tunes on a pentatonic scale (provided the familiar tunes only included those notes of course). However, as shown around 2:56, the process is a lot more intuitive with less notes to choose from. This is why the majority of the high end drums are tuned to pentatonic scales. Thanks for watching the video.

[@jamesmichael20910]

You have several videos on steel tongue drums. Have you ever played a WOODEN tongue drum?

[@musicalmiscellany]

I have not. I know what they are but I do not currently own one. I may have to get one someday.

[@peterkoch3777]

The only tongue drum i can recommend is the RavVast. It plays like a handpan (same layout) and sounds great. But it is not cheap. Still only half the price of a handpan. I own and like to play both. The cheap tongue drums you showed in your video all sound bad or at least mediocre. You get what you pay for. Or not? I own a cheap handpan from Amazon too. It does not sound anywhere as good as my expensive handpan or the RavVast, but way better than what you presented.

[@musicalmiscellany]

Tha is for watching the video.

[@BellXllebMusic]

Isn't chromatic always best for improv? You can just play a pentatonic scale on a chromatic drum

[@musicalmiscellany]

Great question. You can indeed play a pentatonic riff on a major scale. However you’re only using a subset of the tongues. So if you had an 8-tongue drum tuned in a major scale, you can only use 5 (maybe 6) of the tongues. If the same drum was tuned in a pentatonic scale, you could use all 8.

[@RavenRaven-se6lr]

You need to practice first on a not so hot drum. Just in case you don’t like the process

[@musicalmiscellany]

Yes and no. It's never a bad idea to start off with a more value-minded choice... but if you intend to play improv and you buy an inexpensive drum tuned in a major scale... you may have a terrible learning experience (or even quit) simply because the drum doesn't meet your needs. I think it's less about the price and more about what goal you're trying to accomplish. Thanks for checking out the vid.

[@pythregius]

Sub 100 dollar guitars actually are super bad, 150 maybe is the threshold for guitar, the difference between those 50 bucks is creates 10 fold difference

[@musicalmiscellany]

I'm not sure what that has to do with steel tongue drums but thanks for checking out the video.

[@npk98]

Pulsar makes rusty drums...avoid...avoid

[@musicalmiscellany]

I have no personal experience with Pulsar but thanks for the advice. And thanks for watching the video.

[@Shabbychic1989]

Åå

[@musicalmiscellany]

Thanks for watching.