ABOUT THE MOST ANCIENT TYPE OF DRUM
The Frame Drum is the simplest type of Hand Drum. In instrumentology, Hand Drums belong to the group of membranophones. Membranophone because the sound of this type of musical instrument is produced by a stretched membrane (here: a drum head). Simply put, membranophones are drum instruments.
Frame Drums are distinguished from other drum types, such as Tubular or Boiler Drums, by the fact that the frame depth is smaller than the head diameter. They are among the most ancient types of drums and have been sighted as early as the 3rd century BC. Predecessors are considered to be implements covered with animal skin, to be precise, sieves. The diameter of standard Frame Drums ranges from 6 to 22 inches.
One instrument, many names
Depending on the country or culture, there are different types of Frame Drums, which also have different names. Some examples are Bodhrán (Ireland), Daf/Daff/Def (Orient), Bendir (North Africa), Tamburello (Italy) or Pandeiro (Spain, Portugal, Latin America).
Simple construction, ...
If you take a closer look at the Meinl Sonic Energy Frame Drums, you will notice that they are composed of two main parts: A flat, circular frame (called shell) and a drum head stretched on top of it.
Typical materials for the frame are woods (such as oak, ash, plywood), metals, clay or artificial materials. These are bent into a ring and then joined together. Frame Drum heads are typically made from animal skins or hides. Meinl Sonic Energy uses the wood of the rubber tree (also known as Hevea brasiliensis Muell.-Arg.) for the frame of the Frame Drums and hand-selected goatskin for the drum head. The notch machined into the frame serves as a handle and provides a comfortable hold for your Frame Drum. Meinl Sonic Energy Frame Drums are offered in sizes 16, 18 and 20 inch. For the 16 inch-version, you can choose between different imprints of shapely symbols, like Endless Knot, Flower of Life, Triskele, Venus Flower and Tree of Life.
Since the beginning of 2021, Meinl Sonic Energy is offering the Woven Synthetic Head Hand Drum. In contrast to the aforementioned Frame Drums, their drum head is made of woven synthetic material.
The Meinl Sonic Energy Native American-Style Hoop Drums stand out visually. These correspond in their makeup to the drums of Native Americans. The buffalo skin stretched over the 15 inch fiberglass frame is held in place by nylon lacing on the back of the drum. The loop attached to the cords also serves as handle. All Meinl Sonic Energy Native American-Style Hoop Drums are decorated with experessive design symbols and come with a leather padded wooden mallet.
... infinite sound spectrum
Due to the fact that Frame Drums are used in many different cultures, there is a multitude of different playing techniques, which results in a great variety of sounds and possible applications in many different musical styles.
Some classical percussion techniques and their effect on the sound will be briefly outlined here.
Intuitively, you will first strike the center of the membrane with the flat of the hand. This produces the fundamental tone the drum is tuned to. The tone produced is soft, warm, deep and has a long sustain.
If you hit the Frame Drum close to the edge, higher, crisper, crunchier tones will sound.
By hitting the center of the head with the flat of your hand, the heel of your hand, or your fingertips, and then letting your hand rest on the head, you will get a percussive, dry sound with few overtones.
You can create sound effects by hitting the frame with your knuckles or fingertips (so-called slaps). If you are more experienced, you can also try thumb slaps and palm strikes. Stroking the skin with your fingertips or nails produces a sound like wind or the sea. Other sound variations can be elicited from the Frame Drum by using mallets or brushes.
The Frame Drum can be played both sitting and standing. The comfortable grip allows an optimal finger position on the playing surface, so that the Frame Drum does not fall out of your hand even while walking or dancing.
The Frame Drum, easily playable by anyone
The Frame Drum is suitable as a solo, orchestral and accompanying instrument. It doesn't matter if you're a beginner or a pro, anyone can play the Frame Drum. Also percussionists use the Frame Drum in their setup to create effects.
The Frame Drum is tied to religious and spiritual ceremonies in various other cultures. Because of its spiritual origins, it is now used as a shaman drum for ceremonies, as a drum for ambient, meditative sounds, or as a harmonic variation in compsitions all over the world today.
Frame Drums are also found in music education, especially in work with children. NINO Percussion is specifically focused on instruments for early music education and carries a wide range of Frame Drums in its assortment, among others.
Balm for the soul
The family of Meinl Sonic Energy Frame Drums also includes the Wave Drums. More common than the term Wave Drum is the name Ocean Drum or Sea Drum.
The Wave Drum, origin from America, owes its name to its sound. It resembles the sound of the sea or, more precisely, the surf that washes up on the beach. This sound is reminiscent of a long-awaited sea vacation and has a calming effect on many people.
To create the sound of the sea, you don't need much explanation. Simply hold the Wave Drum by the frame and roll your wrists so that the drum is tilted in one direction. This causes the metal beads between the two drum heads of the Wave Drum to roll over the skin. Depending on the speed and jerkiness of the movement, different ocean sounds result – from a calm to a stormy sea. Meinl Sonic Energy Wave Drums can also be struck with the hands or mallets. This aims to create a drum sound with a metallic click.
The special feature of Meinl Sonic Energy Wave Drums is that they are equipped with two different heads, a goat head on one side and a synthetic head on the other. The sealable filling port allows you to control the number of steel balls inside.
Just like the Frame Drums, Meinl Sonic Energy Wave Drums are made of rubber tree (Hevea brasiliensis Muell.-Arg.). The Walnut Brown color gives the Meinl Sonic Energy Wave Drums a beautiful look.
Meinl Sonic Energy is a collection of instruments that supports our connection to experience the body, mind and energy, as One. Many practitioners and guides within the health and wellness industry use these instruments therapeutically for stress management, anxiety relief, insomnia, depression, addictive recovery, pain management, etc. They are unique expressions of the vibrations we encounter on a daily basis and when listened to closely, seem to have a language all their own. They invite us to appreciate the definition of all things we find harmonious in our life and through this support, our journey begins toward new peace and restoration. Our collection of beautifully crafted creations makes self-discovery through sound a simple, profound practice.
All Meinl Sonic Energy Frame Drums at a glance
Hand Drums
Wooden frame (Siam Oak)
Goatskin head
Designed Hand Drums
Wooden frame (Siam Oak)
Goatskin head
Design element
Synthetic Head Hand Drum
Wooden frame (Siam Oak)
Synthetic head
Wave Drums
Wooden frame (Siam Oak)
Goatskin and synthetic head
Create sounds of the surf
Native American-Style Hoop Drums
Wooden frame
Buffaloskin head
Design elements
ABOUT THE MOST ANCIENT TYPE OF DRUM
The Frame Drum is the simplest type of Hand Drum. In instrumentology, Hand Drums belong to the group of membranophones. Membranophone because the sound of this type of musical instrument is produced by a stretched membrane (here: a drum head). Simply put, membranophones are drum instruments.
Frame Drums are distinguished from other drum types, such as Tubular or Boiler drums, by the fact that the frame depth is smaller than the head diameter. They are among the most ancient types of drums and have been sighted as early as the 3rd century BC. Predecessors are considered to be implements covered with animal skin, to be precise, sieves. The diameter of standard Frame Drums ranges from 6 to 22 inches.
One instrument, many names
Depending on the country or culture, there are different types of Frame Drums, which also have different names. Some examples are Bodhrán (Ireland), Daf/Daff/Def (Orient), Bendir (North Africa), Tamburello (Italy) or Pandeiro (Spain, Portugal, Latin America).
Simple construction, ...
If you take a closer look at the Meinl Sonic Energy Frame Drums, you will notice that they are composed of two main parts: A flat, circular frame (called shell) and a drum head stretched on top of it.
Typical materials for the frame are woods (such as oak, ash, plywood), metals, clay or artificial materials. These are bent into a ring and then joined together. Frame Drum heads are typically made from animal skins or hides. Meinl Sonic Energy uses the wood of the rubber tree (also known as Hevea brasiliensis Muell.-Arg.) for the frame of the Frame Drums and hand-selected goatskin for the drum head. The notch machined into the frame serves as a handle and provides a comfortable hold for your Frame Drum. Meinl Sonic Energy Frame Drums are offered in sizes 16, 18 and 20 inch. For the 16 inch-version, you can choose between different imprints of shapely symbols, like Endless Knot, Flower of Life, Triskele, Venus Flower and Tree of Life.
Since the beginning of 2021, Meinl Sonic Energy is offering the Woven Synthetic Head Hand Drum. In contrast to the aforementioned Frame Drums, their drum head is made of woven synthetic material.
The Meinl Sonic Energy Native American-style Hoop Drums stand out visually. These correspond in their makeup to the drums of Native Americans. The buffalo skin stretched over the 15 inch fiberglass frame is held in place by nylon lacing on the back of the drum. The loop attached to the cords also serves as handle. All Meinl Sonic Energy Native American-style Hoop Drums are decorated with experessive design symbols and come with a leather padded wooden mallet.
... infinite sound spectrum
Due to the fact that Frame Drums are used in many different cultures, there is a multitude of different playing techniques, which results in a great variety of sounds and possible applications in many different musical styles.
Some classical percussion techniques and their effect on the sound will be briefly outlined here.
Intuitively, you will first strike the center of the membrane with the flat of the hand. This produces the fundamental tone the drum is tuned to. The tone produced is soft, warm, deep and has a long sustain.
If you hit the frame drum close to the edge, higher, crisper, crunchier tones will sound.
By hitting the center of the head with the flat of your hand, the heel of your hand, or your fingertips, and then letting your hand rest on the head, you will get a percussive, dry sound with few overtones.
You can create sound effects by hitting the frame with your knuckles or fingertips (so-called slaps). If you are more experienced, you can also try thumb slaps and palm strikes. Stroking the skin with your fingertips or nails produces a sound like wind or the sea. Other sound variations can be elicited from the Frame Drum by using mallets or brushes.
The Frame Drum can be played both sitting and standing. The comfortable grip allows an optimal finger position on the playing surface, so that the Frame Drum does not fall out of your hand even while walking or dancing.
The Frame Drum, easily playable by anyone
The Frame Drum is suitable as a solo, orchestral and accompanying instrument. It doesn't matter if you're a beginner or a pro, anyone can play the Frame Drum. Also percussionists use the Frame Drum in their setup to create effects.
The Frame Drum is tied to religious and spiritual ceremonies in various other cultures. Because of its spiritual origins, it is now used as a shaman drum for ceremonies, as a drum for ambient, meditative sounds, or as a harmonic variation in compsitions all over the world today.
Frame Drums are also found in music education, especially in work with children. NINO Percussion is specifically focused on instruments for early music education and carries a wide range of Frame Drums in its assortment, among others.
Balm for the soul
The family of Meinl Sonic Energy Frame Drums also includes the Wave Drums. More common than the term Wave Drum is the name Ocean Drum or Sea Drum.
The Wave Drum, origin from America, owes its name to its sound. It resembles the sound of the sea or, more precisely, the surf that washes up on the beach. This sound is reminiscent of a long-awaited sea vacation and has a calming effect on many people.
To create the sound of the sea, you don't need much explanation. Simply hold the Wave Drum by the frame and roll your wrists so that the drum is tilted in one direction. This causes the metal beads between the two drum heads of the Wave Drum to roll over the skin. Depending on the speed and jerkiness of the movement, different ocean sounds result – from a calm to a stormy sea. Meinl Sonic Energy Wave Drums can also be struck with the hands or mallets. This aims to create a drum sound with a metallic click.
The special feature of Meinl Sonic Energy Wave Drums is that they are equipped with two different heads, a goat head on one side and a synthetic head on the other. The sealable filling port allows you to control the number of steel balls inside.
Just like the Frame Drums, Meinl Sonic Energy Wave Drums are made of rubber tree (Hevea brasiliensis Muell.-Arg.). The Walnut Brown color gives the Meinl Sonic Energy Wave Drums a beautiful look.
Meinl Sonic Energy is a collection of instruments that supports our connection to experience the body, mind and energy, as One. Many practitioners and guides within the health and wellness industry use these instruments therapeutically for stress management, anxiety relief, insomnia, depression, addictive recovery, pain management, etc. They are unique expressions of the vibrations we encounter on a daily basis and when listened to closely, seem to have a language all their own. They invite us to appreciate the definition of all things we find harmonious in our life and through this support, our journey begins toward new peace and restoration. Our collection of beautifully crafted creations makes self-discovery through sound a simple, profound practice.
All Meinl Sonic Energy Frame Drums at a glance
Designed Hand Drums
Wooden frame
(Siam Oak)
Goatskin head
Design element
Hand Drums
Wooden frame
(Siam Oak)
Goatskin head
Synthetic Head Hand Drum
Wooden frame
(Siam Oak)
Synthetic head
Wave Drums
Wooden frame
(Siam Oak)
Goatskin and synthetic head
Create sounds of the surf
Native American-Style Hoop Drums
Wooden frame
Buffaloskin head
Design element
