Tongue drums are a musical
instrument made of wood, usually in the shape of a box, with tongues or keys
on the playing surface. Tuned-to-scale tongue drums are tongue drums
with the tongues tuned to specific
notes within a musical scale.
Tongue drums are members of
the Idiophone family of instruments. An idiophone is an instrument which
vibrates
throughout its body when hit to produce sound. The only instrument older than
the idiophone is the human voice itself.
Since the tongue on the tongue drum is attached at one end to the drum
body, the tongue drum can also be classified as a lamellaphone. Notable
members of this family include the Sansa, Mbira, and Kalimba.
Tongue
drums are known by many different names including Xylodrums, Log Drums,
and Slit Drums. If you were to trace back the origin of the tongue drum, you would find
a version in early African and Asian cultures.
Early
tongue drums had a wide variety of functions within these cultures, from
story telling to beating out war cries over long distances.
Steves' hardwood tongue drums are direct descendants of these ancient
instruments, with a modern twist,
harmonics and tuning.
Steve carefully selects
the highest grade hardwoods available,
and skillfully crafts the finest
tongue drums made.
Steve's
unique designs and attention to detail have garnered worldwide renowned.
Every tongue drum is tuned to concert pitch. They are made in Chico,
California and follow in a long tradition of American made crafts.
With such distinctive
sounds and styles of play, it's little wonder these
fascinating instruments
are finding their way into recordings from artists around the world.
From the Craftsman to Your Door.
Click on the following links
to learn more about the fascinating tongue drum.
