Drum instruments: 3 popular metal sound drums
If you're interested in learning to drum, you've probably already learned a little about the different drums that make up a drum kit. However, there are many other types of drums when it comes to percussion instruments.
The general term refers to percussion instruments, such as those we will discuss here today, which belong to one of two groups: idiophones or membranophones.
Idiophones are instruments whose own body vibrates to produce sound - examples are rattles, bells, handpans , steel tongue drums and clappers.
In membranophones, the sound is produced by the vibration of a stretched membrane - the best known examples are drums.
The term percussion instrument refers to the fact that most idiophones and membranophones are made to sound by striking, although other playing methods such as plucking, shaking, rubbing and scratching also exist.
The world of drums and percussion is vast and offers a lot of room for discovery. This blog post describes different types of drums, from small metal drums to exotic models, but it is by no means an exhaustive list, because that would be a very long text! We will focus here on three of the most important metal sound drums. Enjoy reading!
What drum instruments are there?
The family of percussion instruments consists of membranophones and idiophones, as we have already seen. There are
- 19 types of membranophones
- 24 types of idiophones/ percussion instruments
These include the first category:
- Bongos: Bongos are tall hand drums that are smaller than congas and produce a higher tone.
- Congas: Congas are high, low-tuned hand drums that stand on the floor or on chrome-plated studio fixtures.
- Timbales: Timbales are small drums with metal frames that are mounted on a stand and played with mallets.
The idiophones include:
- Maracas: Maracas originate from Venezuela but are widely used in Latin American music and are wooden shakers with handles.
- Gong: A gong is a suspended metal disc used in both Western classical and Eastern traditional music.
- Metal drum: A metal drum is an idiophone that consists of a concave drum made of metal. The player can achieve different pitches by striking different parts of the drum - especially for beginners: Handpan for beginners .
- Marimba: A marimba is a musical instrument that is very similar to the xylophone, but has a larger range and resonance box under the wooden bars.
- Xylophone: A xylophone is a pitched finger piano or thumb piano consisting of wooden bars arranged like a piano keyboard that the player strikes with felt mallets.
What is a hand drum?
All hand drums are almost identical in one respect - they produce sounds by being struck! The only difference is that each hand drum has a specific pitch range. Pitch range refers to the sound a percussion instrument produces, including low and high pitches. Low pitches are produced by striking the center of the membrane, while high pitches are produced by striking the edge of the instrument.
Let's take a look at the well-known family of percussion instruments - which instruments belong to this family, for example:
- Congas
- Drum
- Handpans
- Bongo
What is a sound drum?
Sound drums and other musical instruments such as the guitar and harp produce sound through vibrations.
When you hit the sound drum , the body vibrates, causing the air to compress and expand rapidly. This rapid expansion and compression of the air causes rapid changes in air pressure. These changes in air pressure create sound waves. The waves then travel through the air until your ear picks them up as sound from your drum.
Handpan – a metal sound drum
The handpan is known as an idiophone, that is, an instrument that produces sound primarily through its own vibration, without the aid of compressed air, strings, tensioned membranes, or electricity. Although individual designs may vary slightly, handpans are always made of two convex steel halves glued together (sometimes giving the impression of a flying saucer). The top half of the instrument has a central dome called the "ding" that produces the fundamental or bass note, while the "gu" is an opening on the bottom of the instrument that helps it resonate and produces the warm, long tones that are so characteristic of a handpan.
As a beginner, you can buy a new handpan from Sonodrum with an excellent price-performance ratio or try to get the handpan used , which is complicated.
All in all, the handpan is all about immersion - it should be intuitive, engaging and creatively liberating, which makes the instrument suitable for amateurs and professional musicians alike. Handpans can be found throughout the music scene, from meditation exercises to music therapy to the Minecraft soundtrack. Get your hands on the Handpan Music Book now so you can really enjoy your handpan.
Steel tongue drum – the metal drum with tongues
The steel tongue drum is often accused of being the poor man's handpan, but that is not true at all. The steel tongue drum is actually based on the wooden slit drum. The slit drum seems to have developed independently in various peoples, such as the Aztecs, Africans, Indonesians and other cultures.
One of the characteristics of a steel propane tank tongue drum is that it has a longer sustain than a handpan (the handpan absorbs sustain more quickly due to the thinner metal, the proximity of the notes, and the tongueless playing areas). Later, people wanted to tame the sustain of the tongue drum a little, so they added nickel to the steel.
Around 2016, numerous factories in China began producing tongue drums made of steel and alloys with tungsten or aluminum. Although these are still handmade, they differ greatly in quality, pitch, sound and price from the steel tongue drums that you can buy from us.
Steel Drum – the tin drum of the Caribbean
The steelpan, better known as the steel drum, is a musical instrument originally developed in Trinidad & Tobago that is played by hammering on the raised and tuned part of the bottom of an oil drum. The steel drum is exactly what you might think when you hear the name... - a drum made of metal - with an open top and several cavities that the steel drum player strikes with mallets to produce notes.
The steel drum is often used to play catchy and fun tunes, especially in the calypso style. Steel drums are often used for upbeat melodies. Since the steel drum originates from the Caribbean islands, it is often associated with tropical areas.
Conclusion
We hope that you have learned a lot about the three most important metal sound drums. Perhaps you were not yet completely clear about the differences. In any case, sound drums are always there to create a special atmosphere with their sound. They can do this with fun, swinging tones, such as those produced by the steel drum from Trinidad & Tobago, or with meditative sounds, such as those produced by the steel tongue drums and handpans.
At Sonodrum you will find different models of handpans and steel tongue drums. There is something for every taste and budget, so don't wait any longer and take a closer look at the range . You can never go wrong with sound drums, because they are intuitive to play and can hardly produce wrong notes. They are particularly suitable for beginners.
