Steel Tongue Drum - HOPWELL 12 Inches 13 Notes Tongue Drum - Percussion Instruments - Hand Pan Drum with Music Book, Drum Mallets and Carry Bag, C Major, (Green)

I bought this for my girlfriend who was looking for an instrument to put in her classroom. The kids love it, and it’s inspired a few of them to pick up more complex instruments. It’s truly an accessible instrument for beginners to make music right away either with understanding the notes or simply finding a rhythm and seeing where it goes. 10/10.

Lightening fast shipping. I ordered it yesterday, it was here this morning - and I live in a rural area!So kudos there!FIRST: I play many folk instruments, including the Hammered Dulcimer, so I am used to hitting things and also the eccentricities of folk instruments. Musical instruments are like people, each one is a little different, with their talents and weirdness. The Hopwell Tongue Drum is no exception. Just like MOST instruments.I got the 12-14 inch size and it came with it's own gig bag which I was not expecting.It also came with two sets of mallets, one that produces a better sound when using the higher note (small) tongues, and a little larger set that works best for the lower note (larger) tongues.I plan to practice playing the higher notes with the smaller mallet in my right hand and then play the lower notes (larger tongues) with my left hand. Or just use the smaller mallets for all. Apparently the larger mallets make it more difficult to produce a sweet tone on the small tongues, but ANYWAY...Over all I like the tone quality, although there is one tongue that tends to offer up a more "clunky" sound, but I think I just have to pay attention to what part of the tongue I'm striking. This seems t be particularly true for the higher notes (smaller tongues).As far as the instruction booklet, I didn't find much data on "striking techniques", but just like other folk instruments you kinda have to "cowboy" your way through it, and figure it out for yourself. You aren't going to get the equivalent of a flute lesson here.The beauty of "learning" to play the tongue drum is that it is very hard to hit a "wrong" note if you are just sitting in your garden, listening to the wind or rain and playing in contemplative mood. In my opinion this is what makes such an instrument perfect for beginners.If I had a criticism I would say that the textile band around the rim seems a little bit too loose and slides off more easily that I would like. Also, the little finger mallets that you can wear on your hand did not produce nice sounds. Perhaps that is ineptitude on my part, however they did produce nice tones on the small tongues but not on the large ones. Practice will answer this question in the long run, after all, I've only had this thing an hour. And I am already addicted to it!Other than that I am pleasantly surprised and deem the $69 well spent. I am glad I read the reviews and opted for the little bit larger size. I am taking mine camping this weekend on it's maiden voyage.

Love this! Very relaxing to play. Nicely made.

Happy with my purchase!!

So this isn't a toy. I never really took these instruments too seriously. I though a hang drum was the way to go but good ones are a few thousand dollars. I bought this to add to my collection of meditation instruments. It projects nicely and has a good tone. It’s very intuitive to create melodies on this instrument. I would have given it 4 and a half stars but I wasn’t able to add the half star. The only thing is that a few of the highest notes don’t project as well but that’s common with any instrument of this nature.