2015-12-28 21:28:00
Elbert Burns
The Hang Drum, a mysterious percussion instrument with a deep, piercing sound like a disk-shaped UFO, has gradually become known since it first appeared around 2000. The unique, calm sound and the passionate melodies that it produces have captivated many people, and it seems that you can easily experience the Hang Drum with a smartphone app.
◆ Hang drum sounds and performances
The hang drum was developed in 2001 by the Swiss musical instrument manufacturer PANArt, and the principle of how it produces sound is almost the same as the steel drum (steel drum) often used in Caribbean music. It is an instrument that can play melodies by processing thin steel plates, and is said to cost around 200,000 yen, but due to a constant shortage of them worldwide, it is often traded at a premium price of several times the price.
From Ixkeys
The following video shows what kind of sounds and performances are possible. This is a duo performance of two hang drums and simple percussion, and you should be able to understand the appeal of the hang drum.
Hanging Hedge Monkey – YouTube
Hang drums are now difficult to obtain and it is not possible to actually experience playing them, but there are a number of replica hang drums available for smartphone apps, making it easy for anyone to try playing one.
Of course, the app is available for both Android and iOS, and if you search for “Hang Drum” in the Play Store or App Store, you will find many apps. This time, we tried out “OddTunes:Hang,” a standard iOS hang drum app with 45 preset scales.
OddTunes: Hanging on App Store
https://itunes.apple.com/jp/app/oddtunes-hang/id309730872
OddTunes:Hang is a paid app priced at 120 yen, so tap the price icon to purchase and install it.
When you start the app after the installation is complete, you will see the following screen. It is displayed in the middle of the screen, and below it is “Aerian (Aeolian or natural minor scale)”, which shows the current scale setting. Below that is “Tuning”, which allows you to change the scale setting, as well as buttons for recording and playing your performance, and a menu button.
By the way, the default scale is like this. It is a natural minor scale starting on D, with A being set as the middle bass note.
So, when playing with Sarato, you can enjoy a similar feel just by arranging the sounds appropriately like this.
I tried playing the sound of a hang drum with the iOS app “OddTunes: Hang” – YouTube
A wide range of tuning scales can be set. The “ACTIVE” item shows the currently set Aeolian, the “FAVORITES” item shows the scales you frequently use, and the “BASIC PACK” item shows the default scale.
The “COMMON PACK” includes harmonic minor, Hungarian major, minor pentatonic scales, and scales that are easy to use on the hang drum.
The EUROPEAN PACK contains many less familiar scales, such as hitsaz used in Greek music, a scale pattern often played on ethnic instruments such as the bouzouki.
“MODERN MODAL PACK” contains scales used in modal theory such as Dorian, Ionian, and Lydian. Depending on the combination with the base song, it can be used very effectively.
The “MICROTONAL PACK” seems to be a scale set finer than a normal semitone. It was a setting that could produce a unique atmosphere that could not be achieved with 12-tone equal temperament.
The scales featured in “EASTERN PACK” are arranged in the chord scales of “Akebono” and “Banshikicho.”
The “MIDDLE EASTERN PACK” is literally filled with Middle Eastern music scales.
Using all these scales would make it a pretty high-level piece, but for now, you can still enjoy the atmosphere just by playing with the default Aeolian scale. If you wake up in the middle of the night, drink some alcohol and immerse yourself in that world with headphones, you’ll be taken to a pretty crazy world.
When you play a hang drum with the iOS app “OddTunes: Hang”, it looks like this – YouTube
