I decided to make this video specifically for one of our customers who bought exactly the same double-sided tank drum He asked me to show him some patterns and beautiful combinations. By the way, I’ve been always worried about how I can tell people or … well, teach how to play the tank drum, as the instruments are all different. We’ve never made a so-called “multipurpose” tank drum, suitable for basics tutorials, where we could say “now touch this tongue, this one and that one, and this particular tune will come out”. I think it contradicts the very essence of the tank drum at some point. There’re different notes and even different intervals, but the main method and the basics remain the same: you should find a combination you like and play it, then you find the second one and play it too, after that you try to mix them.
Now this tank drum is positioned so that the most bass tongue (the lower one) is the farthest from me. The whole scale sounds like this. It turns out that the bass tongue is the farthest from me, and thus, it’s the most comfortable way for me to play. I should also explain that there is a hack here when two adjacent tongues (any two adjacent tongues) form some kind of a harmonious interval. So it's really awesome to use that, I mean, to play these two tongues simultaneously, just in such a way. You can also try to find a combination of notes using other tongues, or instance, locating not far from each other, such as these ones. I play them with two fingers, this one and this one, and I hit here with my knuckle and here with the fingertip.
The sound that turns out is quite beautiful. Sometimes, when playing I touch a little tongue with this part or with my fingertip, palm or finger, and it makes additional sounds. But I do it on purpose. So I hit these two tongues with these two fingers and then these two ones. Now I will try to reflect the same pattern on this part of my tank drum. (Videographer): – Now try the top note there. – Do you mean this one?
– Yes.
– Let me try. – Great! You know, a tank drum itself is quite harmonious, and we only need to find some simple note combinations there. Start with these two ones, just the same way I started playing here or here with my two fingers. nd they will draw some kind of rhythm or melody. You can keep on looking for such patterns, and now I’ll also try to find something like that Let's create a melody, for instance.
I'm going to play like that, beautifully and simply. (Videographer): Sounds really good.
– I'll try to loop it. Yeah, sounds good, simply because the harmony is beautiful. Well, basically this tune can be played on and on, and you’ll enjoy it. In its first part, we play four tongues, and then four more, but only two of them change. (Videographer): I can't believe it's that simple. – Yes, I think that the main rule of playing is… … well, you shouldn’t try to play the whole tank drum immediately; you need to find some particular parts and harmonious conjoint tongues, and then find a simple melody. After that you should find another group of adjacent tongues and another melody, and just mix these groups. Well, right the same way it was here. (Videographer): the sun came out. – It turns out that starting with a simple tune, with just two notes, passing to some intervals, and then moving to a variety of techniques and kinds of fingerpicking, we have the same melody which is being developed and modernized, and such a skill is evolved with your musical technique and habituation.
As soon as I get used to playing this tune, it will sound in my head. Now I start adding some stuff like such crossfades between these parts, which are in fact really basic as well, but I play them quickly due to my technical skill. And this is the finest side. So I can show more combination patterns for this tank drum, That’s a good interval.
So let’s go. (Videographer): As for the question of minor and major scales, this tank drum is a minor one, but the melody is absolutely major. Yep, but this is natural minor, so it definitely includes the major scale as well. By the way, I sometimes like playing "the scale". For example, I choose 5 large tongues and play only them. So I move from the top to the bottom of the musical scale, but with little fills.
In other words, it sounds like this. (Videographer): I think the subscriber will be satisfied.
– Will he? Well, actually, if you have any questions, I'll make another video with pleasure I really like talking about it and can do that again and again. Any tank drum is good, really. Tank drums are so nice and exciting, and it is always possible to find all sorts of things in them. The main thing is to choose simple tongues, two or three ones, and find a beautiful melody playing them. It can be somewhat familiar, but the main thing is to have this harmony right now, at the moment. It should bring some fun, pleasure, images or memories. Well, basically it just happens so, I don't know how exactly.
You can use different ways and methods to play it, even with sticks or with your fingers, applying different techniques. Now let me play the same tune you’ve heard before, but a bit differently. So I played like this (can you see it?), and now I'll play the same tune, but using an “open” tank drum. Generally, if anyone has any specific questions, for example, if you have a particular tank drum tuning mode, or you would like to have some kind of a lesson, or learn more about your tuning mode, just let us know and we’ll tell you about all that with pleasure.
The weather is fine so far, and we enjoy walking in the woods and share our knowledge. This is how it goes..