A Steel Tongue Drum, or “Hank Drum,” is an idiophone, meaning that the sound it produces comes from and resonates inside the "body" of the instrument itself. The instrument was invented in 2007 by a man named Dennis Havlena after he was inspired by the sound of another instrument, a “Hang,” invented in 2001 by a Swiss company named PANart. Havlena was intrigued by the design of their tuned steel instrument, made by indenting the thin metal with mallets to achieve the desired notes, and came up with his design while looking for a cheaper alternative. His invention functions similarly to a “Slit-Drum,” a wooden tongue drum that is tuned based on the thickness and density of the hardwood, but its sound is notably similar to that of the Hang.
I chose to explore the creation of Steel Tongue Drums because of my lifelong love for music, and rhythm instruments in particular, as well as a fascination with the beautiful sound that such a simple instrument can create. Everything that I’ve learned throughout the project has come together in the creation of my website and its contents, consisting of a “How to” video and an image aided, step by step, detailed set of instructions. I also included a list of the tools that I used in my project with links to instruction and safety manuals for all of the power tools included therein.
These tasks provided a structure for my project that supported my overarching themes of improving my communication skills and building a foundation for my future study of engineering. Strategically, my goals were to:
● Develop fundamental skills with shop tools, often used in prototyping
● Improve my knowledge about 3D CAD software and modeling
● Learn to write in a different style (instructional)
While I learned a lot about what I intended to, I also added to my existing knowledge in ways I hadn’t anticipated. When filming the production of the drums, and especially in reflecting on the film that I took of the first drum, I learned a lot about angles and settings for the camera, improving greatly to that end. While recording the voice-over for my video, I learned the subtle differences between recording instruments and vocals for music versus a voiceover, and how different micings will result in poorer quality. As a result of those learning opportunities and time pressure while recording, I also learned a lot about editing out mistakes and multiple tricks for removing “lip-smacking” and “p-popping,” things that were overly present in my recording due to the unfortunate timings of a cold.
None of this could have happened without the efforts of Tom Brown and his willingness to help me through this project. As a former art teacher of mine who manages a studio space at Hampshire College, Mr. Brown generously gave his time, his expertise, and his resources; he both provided me with access to, and taught me to use, all of the tools needed. Always there when I needed him, Mr. Brown’s help was invaluable. Mr. Young, as my advisor, offered constant words of encouragement, nuggets of knowledge, and conversations as well as suggestions that fostered the ideas that brought the project together. In addition, Mr. Miller let me bounce questions off him and showed me tricks for 3D Modeling. Mr. Hoffman, having set an example for me since seventh grade, continued to make time to work with me in the recording studio while I worked on my Voice-Over script and gave me a hand setting things up and editing. Dr. Fagan as always answered all of my random questions throughout the year and gave me advice I needed. Ms. Bates-Zale helped me get to know my camera and provided me with a tripod. Finally, Ms. Henderson was a constant source of mental support throughout the year and helped me with the chaos that was the final weeks of writing.