Tongue Drum Songbook for Beginner

Book excerpt: The steel tongue drum (aka tong drum, tank drum, gluck-o-phone, hapi drum, mandala or lotus drum) and the handpan (aka hank drum, UFO drum, zen drum) are percussion musical instruments designed to help you focus on your feelings, sensations, and body. You don't need classical music training or knowledge of music theory to play them. The main purpose is relaxation, meditation, and traveling through your inner world. No previous training or skills are necessary to enjoy these fascinating instruments. It is impossible to play them incorrectly. Anyone can play them: those who want to develop a good sense of rhythm and an ear for music, those who are seeking relaxation after a hard day at work, those who have always had an interest in learning how to play a musical instrument, and those who want to introduce something unusual into their lives and explore their inner selves. This book is aimed at those who want to add popular melodies to their experimentation. All songs in this book have been written without using the classic music score system, because it is for absolute beginners who cannot read sheet music. We use circles with numbers because most modern tongue drums have numbers engraved or painted on their keys. We do not show the note duration -- we just group the circles closer to each other to show the rhythms. You can experiment with duration on your own. Because most tongue drums include and are tuned to involve the notes of the main octave, all songs from this book are possible to play in one octave. This book includes very simple, popular children's and folk songs, but even well-known children's songs played on the drum will create an unusual magical sound. Attention: Songs have been transposed for a DIATONIC range. Some melodies might be changed and simplified. If you have flat keys on your instrument, please use the classic music score for the piano. Contents Introduction Rub-a-Dub-Dub The Wheels on the Bus Miss Mary Mack Happy Birthday Doggie Doggie Mary Had a Little Lamb Oh We Can Play on the Big Bass Drum Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star A Hunting We Will Go Kookaburra Ode to Joy Do You Know the Muffin Man? Old Bald Eagle La Cucaracha A Sailor Went to Sea Are You Sleeping The Mulberry Bush Old McDonald Bim Bum Biddy London Bridge Jingle Bells Tinga Layo Itsy Bitsy Spider We Wish You a Merry Christmas Brahms Lullaby Ninety-Nine Bottles Jolly Old Saint Nicholas Oh Susannah Row Row Your Boat Acka Backa Hot Cross Buns Bell Horses