Review: Meinl’s Sonic Energy Mini Tongue Drum

An interesting new piece from Meinl!
#Percussion
#TongueDrum
#Meinl

[@kimschiavone8722]

Very pretty sound

[@gailclaypool9482]

Thank you for sharing, ordered one last night waiting for it to arrive. Just starting my adventure into Steel tongue drums. I am not very musical, but wanted something to relieve stress and anxiety.

[@jukesjointOG]

Hi Gail; thank -you- for sharing! Everybody’s musical in one way or another. A tongue drum like this will help you explore a bit without a huge expense. And it really does sound nice. You can’t go wrong.

[@TheCAG1976]

Bought this same one also at Guitar Center along side the black one that is slightly bigger. I guess I bought the two because they were so cheap and thought to mix some sounds together which I have done. I need more practice still, but these, like you said, are super nice for their cost. I’ve always wanted one since I have seen and watch videos of the hand drums and pan drums which where much expensive. These small things satisfied that desire! And thanks for the video! I’ll have to see the other one you spoke of you playing this thing. You have better experience than I so it makes it nice to watch!

[@spicyf]

Hi there, do you notice a huge difference between the 7" and the 6" in tone and quality?

[@TheCAG1976]

Honestly the quality is the same which is nice, but where the difference is, is the size of the drum. So you are getting a differene pitch or key. I will hammer out some notes on the one while hammering out notes on the other to create a unique sound.@@spicyf

[@spicyf]

@@TheCAG1976 perfect, thank you for the reply. I bought a smaller one as I wanted a major key and was worried the resonance would be worse on the smaller one. It's a Xmas gift so I want it to be just right!

[@TheCAG1976]

@@spicyf That’s nice! Let me know what you think of it! Now this is inspiring me to practice some songs using both drums together!

[@spicyf]

@@TheCAG1976 really happy with the b major drum, it's surprisingly loud. 👍🏼

[@siennaprice1351]

My music therapist has this tongue drum. I got to check it out recently. I have their small steel tongue drum in the key of F-minor. I really want the mini steel tongue drum that’s in the key of B-major. For some strange reason, B-major is my most favorite key in the music scale. By the way, the tongue drum you purchased in this video is tuned to the key of A-major.

[@jukesjointOG]

@@siennaprice1351 Yes, A-major Pentatonic.

[@sarahkanieski8293]

That's great! Now I can rest easy buying one.

[@jukesjointOG]

I’m sure you will enjoy your purchase.

[@NiRo_90125]

I just bought two of these. Decided to remove the rubber rings because I prefer how they sound without it.

[@OrderedEntropy]

Bought this as my first one into the world of pans

[@OrderedEntropy]

exact same A major navy blue

[@sensyko8312]

Awesome

[@aetherea8955]

Some Songs to Play?

[@jukesjointOG]

@@aetherea8955 Anything with A Major Pentatonic.

[@coolea]

Can you play this with your hands, or is it a bit too small for that?

[@jukesjointOG]

It is a little small for that, and it is not designed as a hand-pan, so the tongues “sing” best with mallets. You could give it a try using your fingers, if you have small hands, I suppose. You’d still need to set it on a table, the floor, or ground; it’s too small to play comfortably in your lap.

[@tarastreasure]

There are finger picks for this instrument that look something like a rubber ring, with a bump (like half of the mallet head) that goes on the inside of the finger and you hit with it. I do think moving you fingers is a bit more free-flowing and inspiring than the mallets. :) I just got one like this but the black one in C major because I just felt like it... Now to figure out what to do with it! 😂

[@jukesjointOG]

@@tarastreasure Fascinating! I’ve never seen those.

hi, where can I buy this, there is not in my country

[@jukesjointOG]

Which country are you in?

[@klara7353]

Any chance you could tell us newbies without any musical knowledge how to put numbers on correctly to play by numbers?

[@jukesjointOG]

It depends on what you would want to play. It’s not a chromatic (all white and black keys on the piano) or full major scale (white keys). It’s a pentatonic scale (based on 5 notes). So it sounds great and is easy to play, but not every melody is available, if you know what I mean.

[@dreamingalis_]

Hi! Is it possibile to play it just with your hands and without the sticks?

[@jukesjointOG]

It’s very small, and meant to be played with mallets (which is how it will sound best).

[@meagsP568]

Where can I get music for this size

[@jukesjointOG]

@@meagsP568 I don’t think there’s anything written specifically for the A Major Pentatonic tongue drum. It’s more of an improvisational instrument. But any song in A Major Pentatonic scale could be played, once you learn the layout of the tongues. It would be cool if there was a method book to get you started (as there are for other instruments), but I don’t know of anything specifically for tongue drum, unfortunately. (Edit!! WELLLLLLL- Shuck my britches, I was kind of way wrong… Here’s a DuckDuckGo search for “Tongue Drum Method Book”: duckduckgo.com/?q=tongue+drum+method+book&t=iphone&ia=web )

[@broadcastmusic]

Where to find list of available tunings?

[@jukesjointOG]

I thought I found it, but on further review, that looked like the tuning of each note on the A major. Now the website is showing three different colors, all A major, but I could have sworn there were more tunings at my local Guitar Center. An interesting mystery. I’ll keep looking, but you may want to call Meinl directly for confirmation. (PS- OK, I think I have it this time: A major, B major, C major pentatonic- meinlsonicenergy.com/en/instruments/steel-tongue-drums/mini )

[@joemusic2882]

Just bought one 5 minutes ago

[@jukesjointOG]

Noice, enjoy!

[@Heldin33]

Will by one in 5 min.

[@mustamuri]

🎶✨🧸✨🎶 👶👏

[@bensimonmekhael4230]

BLABLABALA

[@jukesjointOG]

Indeed Mons Frerejaques. I believe you might actually say… “blehblehbleh,” while sipping a glass of sherry. Good show.

[@sensyko8312]

Awesome