TerraTonz is honored by the review of our tongue drums which was featured in HandPans Magazine!Please read it here! This review does an excellent job of explaining how our TerraTonguez steel tongue drums add to the unfolding global conversation about sound sculpture, tongue drums, hang drums and handpans.
Please review our most recent FAQ and remember to support us this weekend at Chastain Park and Beat the Drum!
What materials are used to make the instruments? And how are these instruments made?
TerraTonguez new line of steel tongue drums are made from 100% American made and processed commercial steel. Our Eco/ Earth friendly recycled line is made of 100% re-purposed steel from decommissioned propane tanks that have been properly prepared for use as safe and unique musical instruments. To the best of our knowledge, we at TerraTonz are the first, and currently the only, custom production company in the world which completes all torching and welding by hand while using a unique Earth-friendly water and alcohol solution instead of explosive shielding gas. Our intricate designs are created through dimensional welding and detailed grinding. The instruments gain color from a series of our controlled torched and firing processes utilizing natural oils. We avoid using paint finishes to artistically decorate our instruments. However, we may occasionally accent with a minimal paint color to highlight and accentuate our natural finishes. Each piece recieves a durable clear coat and is buffed out to mirror-like protective perfection. As for the TerraPanz, we cannot reveal any info on the processes of making our HandPan; it’s top secret.
What are the main differences between TerraTonguez and TerraPanz?
TerraTonguez create a sound which resembles xylophones and/or bells. While most other available tongue drums are outsourced to be cut by a machine, all notes on TerraTonguez are cut entirely by hand with unique Earth-friendly technology with utilizes water instead of shielding gas. Our instruments are then fine-tuned with a bi-metal saw blade. Additionally, TerraTonguez have a more artistically expressive appearance and are prized on display as sculptural art when they are not being used as musical instruments. We describe them as being “Musical Sculptures”, infusing “Sight and Sound.”
HandPans sound similar to steel pans and/or harps. Structurally, the entire form and notes of the TerraTonz prototypes are hammered into place completely by hand, setting them apart from many others on the market which are outsourced to be machined. Currently only one successful maker is apparently forming them by hand, a Russian maker Victor Levinson. We resonate with the hand made quality and are utilizing our own unique processes to achieve singing steel by the hands of man. Some key features of the HandPan are a center dome top note, the chromatically chosen notes which surround the dome and the bottom sound hole, which is played like a ghatam or udu. As a whole, the HandPan creates a beautiful vibration and rich sound leading us to describe it as a “Sacred Singing Vessel.”
How do I play TerraTonguez and TerraPanz?
TerraPanz, like all HandPans, must be played with only your hands free from rings or jewelery. One typically uses their finger tips or thumbs when playing. The key is to keep your touch lite with a quick snap back, as though you are touching something hot. TerraTonguez on the other hand may be played with either your fingers or with mallets. You may purchase mallets from TerraTonz, from a local music supply store or we will direct you how to make your own.
Do I have to be a musician to play?
No! Each instrument’s notes are arranged in a chromatic scale so it will sound magical when played in any order. This is not to say that you don’t need any practice though. Spending time with your instrument to get the hang of it is essential and fulfilling. One of our purchasers compares finding your personal playing style to looking at a Magic Eye picture. She is fond of saying, “It may be a little difficult finding it, but when you do, it’s yours forever. ”
So, it seems like these are popular for personal use. Is that right?
Yes. While TerraTonz creates instruments that will sound well when played together, most people who purchase TerraTonguez and TerraPanz are individuals interested in personal use. Some find these to be “gateway instruments” which build their confidence making music and prepare them to play other instruments in the future. However, many people use the instruments as a form of meditation which helps clear their minds and center their personal energy. Children also enjoy playing the instruments. TerraTonz designer Scott Ritchey can attest to this fact. His 13-year-old and 7-year-old will cut off their Wii in favor of playing their TerraTonguez.
TerraTonz claims to make “sacred instruments.” What makes them sacred?
To be sacred, a creation must inspire a sense of awe in its users and guide them toward having a more enriching relationship with The Divine–however one percieves Divinity to be. The energy created by our instruments typically inspires a sense of awe which holds both adults and children captive and brings them a sense of peace and inner calm which didn’t exist in the moments before playing the instruments or hearing their sounds. It is within this state of inner peace that people achieve a meditative, prayerful state and feel more “in touch” with their personal ability to manifest positive change and with their ability to connect with Divinity. There is an additional awe-inspiring quality related to the music’s therapeutic effects.
What exactly are these therapeutic effects?
Music is vibrational energy which interacts with human’s energy fields in a way that promotes tranquility and calm. When this peaceful state of mind is achieved, people enjoy physical benefits associated with stress reduction and meditation such as lower blood pressure. Additionally, ceritifed music therapist Craig Canedy with Muse for Life is pioneering using TerraTonz’s instruments as a means of helping autistic and other special needs children and adults to communicate and process environmental cues more effectively. Some people go so far as to say music can re-align the vibrational frequency and pattern of Earth’s energy and ultimately serve as a catalyst for widespread cognitive and social change.
These remind me of Hang drums and steel drums. Is there a connection?
Yes. “Hang” drums (more accurately called “Hang Hang”) are the creation of PANart, the Switzerland-based company owned by Felix Rohner and Sabina Sharer. After studying the Trinidadian steel drum created by Ellie Mannette, Felix developed his idea for the “Hang”, also taking inspiration from a number of world instruments, including the gamalong, ghatam and udu. PANart introduced their instrument in 2001 and originally supported some retail sales but ultimately morphed into an exclusive entity which, as of fall 2011, markets the instruments as “sound sculpture” in one tuning and requires potential purchasers to write a letter before being approved for a place on a waiting list. PANart emphasizes the idea that the Hang Hang are more valuable than the players and that individuals must be worthy of using them. Meanwhile, a handful of HandPan makers have opened shop across the globe. These create instruments in the same style as the “Hang” but each with their own unique touches. TerraPanz is TerraTonz’s developing HandPan line. TerraTonz is part of the international musical community which promotes the instruments as sacred healing vessels and aims to provide them to as many people possible in a timely manner at a reasonable price. Even with the number of creators rising, the tuning process is so intricate and invidualized that demand for these instruments outweighs supply. In addition to fathering the steel drum from which the “Hang” was inspired, Ellie Mannette and his “Sons of Steel” have adopted and apprenticed TerraTonz’s founder C. and are helping him tune the TerraPanz. As of November 2011, TerraTonguez are the only known instrument available for immediate sale. However, the formal launch of the TerraPanz line is planned to bridge the gap between Ellie Mannette, Felix and other makers world wide so that the primary focus of the company is chiefly on sharing and spreading positive vibrations to all.
Can you tell me some more about your company’s background?
Certainly! TerraTonz is incorporated as an LLC partnership. Its base of operation is a 20,000 square foot facility in Kingston, GA. However, it does business internationally via the website www.TerraTonz.com. Members also spend the year traveling with children in tow to festivals and art shows nationwide. TerraTonz’s creator C. PanMan has a lifelong career as an entreprenuer and started out in scenery design and custom contracting. Following a massive fire in 2007 that destroyed most of his industrial complex, C. began searching for work that would be more meaningful and in tune with his personal vibrations. The answer came in 2010 when his mentor Alberto Roman suggested he research an instrument called the Hang. C. obliged and felt immediately called to make steel sing. Additional members of his collective have been drawn together through a series of uplifting coincidences and unexpected connections. Everyone involved functions as a family united by love, trust and challenges met and overcome.
North of TerraTonz headquarters, our friend Tom Blue Wolf runs Earthkeeper’s One Tribe Trading Company, specializing in the production of medicinal healing products. Along with his salves, Tom is also an internationally respected voice for the Native American community. Through my connections to him, I learned a story about fall in which the leaves covering the ground fill the Earth with medicine that they store throughout spring and summer. The medicine is released at night and fills the land where you live with the energy you need to manifest your current desires. This first weekend of November, please come out to dance in the leaves as you make music and help us manifest our vision of making a living creating positive, life-altering vibrations via our musical art. We will be present on Nov. 5 and 6 at the Chastain Arts Festival in Atlanta and on Nov. 7 at Beat the Drum in Athens, GA. Beat the Drum is an interactive percussive show taking place at the Georgia Theater. Beat the Drum will raise funds and awareness for Drumming for Success, Dr. Arvin Scott’s award-winning humanitarian organization which helps young people manifest positive change through music.
TerraTonz offers instruments available to buy now and customizes TerraTongues for individual players. To view existing TerraTongues available for sale, and to hear TerraTongues in use, please visit our products pages.
