From the oldest family of music instruments, the tongue drum is a simple instrument with an amazing sound. Technically, it’s not a drum, as there is no vibrating membrane. It is instead classified as an idiophone (though somehow the word isn’t in the dictionary), as the tongue drum makes its sound through the vibration of the body when struck by mallets or played by hand.

For thousands of years, tongue drums were made to have just one or two slits and more closely represent what is now called the slit drum. These days, tongue drums are typically made to have anywhere from 4 to 16 notes, and usually have their own unique tuning.

After watching this video, Click Here to see another world instrument.

In this video, the djembe plays aside the kpalongo hand drum from Ghana.

After the video, check out this other djembe.

For decades the djembe has been one of the most popular hand drums world wide. Known for playing traditional African rhythms, the djembe is often the primary instrument in a drum circle. In this case, at least a dozen of these hand drums are gathered around to play Fanga.

After the video, Click Here to check out the doumbek, an Arabic hand drum.