Drums, Gongs & Bells

The struck half of the sound room: two gongs and a stand, a goatskin frame drum, an ocean drum, a steel tongue drum, a handpan and an altar bell. Everything here you hit; the singing bowls next door you rub.

In short: Budget for the stand before the gong — a gong that cannot swing cannot open.

A bronze gong on a dark wooden stand with a goatskin frame drum, brass altar bell and felt mallet on dark green marble in candlelight

The struck half of the sound room

The sound instruments in this shop divide along one line, and it is not price or size: it is whether you rub the instrument or hit it. Singing bowls are rubbed — a mallet traveled around the rim holds one tone for as long as you keep moving. Everything on this page is struck, which means the sound is not something you sustain but something you release and then listen to as it goes. That difference decides which one belongs in your practice far more than the specifications do.

What each family actually does

Gongs do not play notes so much as weather. One strike keeps arriving in waves for half a minute, each slightly different, which is why a single gong can hold a room longer than a set of bowls. A 20-inch Thai gong is dense and immersive; a 22-inch nickel-silver soundscape gong is layered and keeps unfolding after you expect it to stop.

Frame and ocean drums are for texture. A goatskin frame drum struck once gives a warm tone that keeps opening; an ocean drum rolls steel balls across the head to imitate surf, with an adjustable filling that moves from a hush to a full break.

Steel tongue drums and handpans are the melodic end, and both are built so that a beginner cannot hit a wrong note — every tongue or dimple belongs to the same scale. The steel tongue drum is lap-sized, bell-like, and roughly a tenth the price of a handpan; the handpan has longer sustain and a far more complex overtone.

Bells are for punctuation. The crystal-charm altar bell here, rung once at the start of a practice draws a line that ten minutes of settling cannot.

How to judge one before you buy

A gong is only as good as what it hangs from. This is the single most common and most expensive mistake. Held by hand, or mounted on a frame that rattles, a superb gong sounds thin, because a disc that cannot swing cannot open. Budget for a stand rated above your gong’s diameter.

Check the tuning against what you will play it with. 440 Hz is concert pitch and sits correctly alongside guitars, pianos and recordings. 432 Hz is the lower alternative many sound practitioners prefer for solo work; the steel tongue drum on this page is tuned to it. Neither is better; they simply do not sit together in the same room.

Ask what the head is made of. Natural goat skin gives warmth and responds to humidity; synthetic heads are stable and consistent. The ocean drum here carries one of each, deliberately.

Weight and diameter are practical, not just tonal. A 16-inch frame drum on a light oak frame can be held through a long session; a 22-inch gong cannot go anywhere without its stand.

Where to start

If you have never played anything, start at either end rather than the middle. A $52.95 altar bell, struck once to open and once to close, does most of what people actually want from sound in a practice. If you want to play rather than punctuate, a steel tongue drum is the forgiving entry — there is no wrong note on it. The gongs and the handpan are the deep end, and both reward a stand, a little room, and patience.

From the magazine: 432 Hz vs 440 Hz: what the tuning debate is · Singing bowls: how to play and choose one · Shamanic journeying and the drum method · Witch bells for the door. For every instrument in the shop, bowls and tuning forks included, see Sound & Vibration.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between a gong and a singing bowl?

How you make the sound, and how long it lasts. A singing bowl is usually rubbed with a mallet around its rim and holds one steady tone for as long as you keep going. A gong is struck once and then left alone — the sound keeps arriving in waves for half a minute or more, changing as it goes. Bowls are for sustaining; gongs are for releasing.

Do I need a stand for a gong?

For anything above about 16 inches, effectively yes. A gong needs to swing freely to open up; held by hand or mounted on something that rattles, even an excellent instrument sounds thin and short. The Meinl round stand on this page takes gongs up to 32 inches, which covers both gongs we carry with room to spare.

Which instrument should I start with if I have never played anything?

A steel tongue drum. Every note on it belongs to one scale, so there is no wrong note to hit — the first thing you play already sounds deliberate. The handpan works on the same principle at more than ten times the price. If you want something simpler and far cheaper, an altar bell struck once at the start and end of a practice does most of the work people actually want from sound.

What does 432 Hz mean, and should I care?

It refers to the pitch the instrument is tuned to. Most modern music is tuned to A = 440 Hz, concert pitch; 432 Hz is a slightly lower alternative that many sound practitioners prefer. The practical question is what you will play it with: choose 440 Hz if the instrument has to sit alongside guitars, pianos or recordings, and 432 Hz if it will be played on its own or with other 432 instruments.

What is the difference between a steel tongue drum and a handpan?

Construction and voice. A steel tongue drum has notes cut as tongues into a steel shell and sounds rounded and bell-like, somewhere between a handpan and a music box; it is small, lap-sized and inexpensive by comparison. A handpan is hammered from two steel shells into tuned dimples, has a longer sustain and a more complex overtone, and costs an order of magnitude more.

Is an ocean drum a real instrument or just an effect?

Both, and it is worth knowing which you are buying. It holds steel balls between two heads, and tilting it rolls them across the skin to imitate surf. The filling is adjustable, so it moves from a distant hush to a full break, and one head is natural goat skin while the other is synthetic — two different tonal textures from the same drum. It is used as a percussion instrument as well as for atmosphere.