[approx. - the name comes from a combination of the words “Hang” (hang) and “Tank” (balloon)] is a percussion musical instrument created inventor Dennis Havlena in 2007 as a simplified and affordable analogue of the Swiss instrument HANG DRUM. The reeds (or petals) of the instrument are tuned in such a way that any notes sound harmoniously in combination with each other.

If you are interested, then let's move on to the instructions for making it at home.

Required tools and materials:

1. Empty gas cylinder from propane (it is best to purchase a new one);

2. Hacksaw for metal;

3. Bucket for water. Watering can or watering hose;

4. Empty plastic bottle;

5. Grinder and protective mask for working with it.

Step 1: First of all, you will need a 5 or 10 liter propane storage tank. (optional).

Note: To avoid unwanted injury, it is recommended to use NEW, previously unfilled gas cylinders. If you decide to use a used tank, I highly recommend reading the guidelines below.

• Open the cylinder valve all the way and make sure that there is no gas left in it. If you cannot hear the sound of gas escaping, you need to lather the valve outlet and check that all the gas has come out.

• Lay the can on its side and take a hacksaw.

• Start cutting off the brass valve of the cylinder at the root. Brass is fairly easy to saw with a hacksaw.

• Use the help of a friend: while sawing the valve, a second person should pour water onto the sawing area from plastic bottle or watering hose to prevent sparks.

• After cutting off the valve, fill the bottle with water. To do this, you can use a bucket (fill water through a funnel) or a long watering hose. The container should be filled to the very top.

• As the container is filled, you should shake it in order to wash off the condensation from the walls as thoroughly as possible.

• After filling the cylinder, the water must be drained. Do not do this near your home, as the drained water sometimes emits a strong and lingering propane odor that does not go away for several days.

• After all the actions performed, the cylinder is sawed with a grinder. Often the metal thickness is about 3 mm, so sawing should not cause much difficulty.

Step 2: Dismantling the valve. Before you begin any actions to cut the cylinder or dismantle its elements, make sure once again that complete absence pressure in it. Next, securely fasten the cylinder to the frame (or whatever you have) and unscrew the valve from its seat using an adjustable wrench. To do this you will have to make a lot of effort. Therefore, try to fix the tank as securely as possible and look at the “lever” in advance. It may be useful to you.

Step 3: After removing the valve, you need to take care of the future playing surface. To do this, we need to cut off the bracket-stand from the bottom of the cylinder. As a rule, the stand is attached to the metal by welding. The number of such points varies from three to eight, depending on the manufacturer, so our main task is to file the welds and disconnect the bracket without damaging the surface.

Do not make the cut too close to the bottom, as... when rotating, the grinder wheel may come off and leave a deep cut on your future drum. Therefore, it is best to retreat an extra 3 - 4 mm from the surface, and then level the resulting protrusions using a file or sandpaper.

Step 3.1 Decide what your Hank Drum will look like. I have seen various variations of this instrument. In some of them, the designers left the valve protective casing (the upper part of the cylinder) and later used it as a stand for the drum. If there is no such need, remove the casing by analogy with the actions described in step 3.

Step 4: After enlarging it to the required size, print the template below. Next, place this model on the playing surface of the future “drum”.

Important: The picture is clickable!

Step 5: Surface marking. A very important and scrupulous procedure. The sound of the instrument will depend on how accurately you transfer the marking sketch.

Make a stencil from the printed template, apply it to the playing surface and outline with a simple pencil or a pen with a thin rod. It is not recommended to use a marker, due to the high probability of making an error when making a cut.

Also, make sure that the center of the stencil coincides with the center of the bottom of the cylinder.

Step 6: Formation of "petals". So, the markings are ready and our next task is to cut out the “petals” of the tank drama as accurately as possible.

There are two main ways: The first is to use a small grinder for cutting. And if everything is clear with this, then with the second one you will have to suffer a little.

In the second case, you will need a jigsaw with a thin blade for metal, a needle file and a drill. Stepping back 1-1.5 cm from the edge of the playing surface (we will need this distance later for adjustments), drill a hole with a diameter of about 1.5 mm. Next, use a file to widen the hole so that the jigsaw blade fits freely into it. Then carefully cut according to the markings, but do not bring the cut to the edge of the marked petal by the same 1-1.5 cm.

Repeat a similar procedure with the remaining “petals”.

Step 7: Setting up Hank Drum. This is the stage where you must be most careful and attentive. To complete it, I would recommend that you get a digital tuner or similar application for your smartphone.

Then we do the following: Using a thin needle file, or a blade from a hacksaw for metal, we continue to carefully file the “petals” along the markings (previously missed 1-1.5 cm on each side). In this case, we focus on the tuner. At a certain moment, the amplitude of the sound will increase sharply, so it is necessary to constantly listen to the sound of the “petal” after each adjustment.

Note: In order to eliminate errors during tuning that arise due to the resonance of neighboring “petals,” it is recommended to muffle them by gluing them with masking or insulating tape.

Step 8: As a rule, 1-2 rubber rings are included with a propane tank. We'll need them too! First of all, they help to weaken the ringing, and in addition, their movement somewhat changes the sound of the instrument as a whole.

Step 9: Your Hank Drum is ready! Play and enjoy!

And to complete the picture, I suggest you familiarize yourself with the detailed (Russian-language) video instructions for making Hank Drum:

Hang (German: Hang) is a percussion instrument consisting of two connected metal hemispheres.
The instrument was developed in 2000 by Felix Rohner and Sabina Schärer (PANArt) from the Swiss city of Bern as a result of many years of study of the steel cymbal and many other resonant percussion instruments from around the world: gong, gamelan, gatam, drums , bells, musical saw.
In the Bernese dialect German language the word Hang means "hand".
This percussion instrument consists of two interconnected metal hemispheres: a DING side and a GU side.
On the DING side there are 7-8 tone areas that form a “tone circle”. It surrounds a central dome called DING (gong-like). There is a fist-sized hole on the GU side for sound resonance. This hole can be played like an oud or used to modulate the DING sound.
There are many ways to produce sound from the hang: with your fingertips, your thumbs, the heel of your hand. Usually the player places the hang on his lap, but it can also be placed on a drum stand.
Its sound is simply cosmic!!

• Video: The Original Hank Drum from a Propane Tank by Dennis Havlena

Dennis Havlena has been creating and inventing musical instruments for over 40 years. One of his latest inventions is called Hank Drum. (the name comes from a combination of two words: Hang (hang) and Tank (balloon). In early 2007, Dennis was inspired by a Felle Vega invention called the Tambiro, made from a helium tank. Dennis created his version of the Tambiro from a much thicker walled 20 lb propane tank: his invention has 6 pentatonic steel "reeds" cut into the side of the tank. Of course, Dennis was also inspired by the Swiss-invented hang, a wonderful instrument that appeared as recently as 2000. But after estimating the time it would take for the hang to be made (they are made only to order, and the queue is months in advance), the price of the hang (about $1,800), as well as the cost of flying to Switzerland, Dennis ventured to make a hang no similar in sound at the same time an original instrument. He cut metal tongues in such a way that the tuning of his instrument coincided with the tuning of the hang.

The rubber cord (bundle) wrapped around the cylinder plays a big role in Dennis's instrument: it dampens the excess ringing of the cylinder and eliminates unwanted overtones. Experimentally it is possible to achieve best result. Elastic bands from an expander, a rubber medical tourniquet, seals, etc. are suitable. and so on. Experiment. Dennis wrote brief instructions, how to make Hank Drum. I have provided a copy of his instructions on our website. The template below needs to be enlarged (maintaining proportions) so that the signed One Inch mark is exactly one inch (2.52 cm). Carefully! Dennis warns that it is necessary to use only new (never filled with gas) cylinders to avoid explosion What you will need: electric drill (metal drills), jigsaw (pobedite blades, etc.), pencil (marker), paper, ear for music :)

Brief instructions for making a hang from a propane cylinder:

• The template below needs to be enlarged (maintaining proportions) so that the signed One Inch mark is exactly one inch (2.52 cm).
• After printing the template, you need to cut out the marked “tongues” along the contour, then attach it to the bottom of the propane tank and transfer the markings to the tank. The blue arrow (tank center) indicates the center of the tank.
• Cut out "tongues". This template is provided for key of D minor .
• A rubber cord (harness), sometimes 2 or even 3, wrapped around the cylinder, truly works wonders: it dampens the excess ringing of the cylinder and eliminates unwanted overtones.

Alternative Hank Drum Tuning

• Video: Hank Drum from Dennis Havlena's Propane Tank: Alternate Tuning

According to Dennis, the next version of his Hank Drum is the most successful: the instrument is tuned slightly lower than his other models. To extract low sounds, a pair of larger “tongues” are used, which sound much better than smaller ones.

Try to place each "tongue" in a more or less similar position, as shown in the picture below.. This is not very critical. VERY IMPORTANT: Start by cutting each "foot" of the tongue a quarter of an inch or even shorter, as shown in the illustration, and then slowly make the cut longer. Despite the fact that Dennis has already built many Hank Drums, he still completes the cut manually with a hacksaw blade for metal, and not with a jigsaw, otherwise he might not be able to correctly set the tool. In other words, haste is not appropriate here.

The instrument is configured in "minor pentatonic 9" tonality, from low to high tones:
C(corresponding to the central note "ding" in hange or halo )
F
G#
B flat
C
E flat
F
G

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Among musicians and music lovers abroad, this instrument, consisting of two metal hemispheres, is also known as dream-drum, happy-drum, teng-drum, but for some reason the name glucophone has stuck in our area. Perhaps due to the characteristic sound, which, according to some listeners, can put you into a trance.

The prototype of the instrument was another, also relatively young, “percussion brother” called the hang.

- There are no hangs or glucophones in conveyor production,- says Kirill. - Each copy - handmade, that's why they are not cheap.

Hangas made in the instrument’s homeland, Switzerland, are most valued among fans. The cost of the original, according to Kirill, starts at 14,000 euros. At the same time, it is problematic to get even a second-hand one, and the queue for production on individual orders is already counting for years. Real hangs are made by rare masters who, for obvious reasons, are not eager to share secrets. At least it's free.

Kirill got the idea to make his own glucophone after watching a video on YouTube. And he began to collect information bit by bit, which was not much even on the Internet. I used what was at hand as material. Namely, two small gas cylinders, the bottoms of which were cut out and butt welded together.

Among the tools, a saw-grinder was needed for rough cuts, which were brought to the desired type already manually. The work itself took a day.

- Setting up the glucophone is a real puzzle, - admits Kirill. - The longer the cut, the lower the note sounds. The wider the petal, the greater the rumble; the narrower and shorter, the higher the sound and the longer the sound. In general, an extra millimeter - and the sound is no longer the same, the instrument is ruined.

To be honest, I myself was surprised when I hit the petal for the first time and heard that same sound... At first I sat and played for hours without stopping, my family even became worried. And I even dreamed about the glucophone at night.

The second copy, alas, turned out to be unsuccessful. Somewhere, the guy complains, a mistake was made. Perhaps the “third pancake” will work out better - you just need to find an unnecessary propane tank.

Especially important point Before starting production, make sure that the gas from inside is completely removed. Otherwise an explosion may occur.

According to Kirill, anyone can play - knowing notation and having an excellent ear for music is not necessary. Therefore, each melody extracted is a unique improvisation. There would be some kind of feeling of rhythm, and, of course, desire.

“Anyone can make a glucophone themselves”

- Alexey, tell us the history of this instrument. Where and when did he appear?

Now it is difficult to say exactly where this instrument came from. The first videos of him on the Internet date back to 2007. Although its relatives can be considered ancient African slot drums, kalimbas. Having appeared in our time of the Internet and high-speed exchange of information, the glucophone quickly penetrated into many corners of the world as the idea of ​​a “do-it-yourself musical instrument from improvised means.” Therefore, it began to rapidly gain popularity without much investment in promotion. It's like a miracle. Now that it is difficult to trace its origins and history, I would say that it is a folk instrument, a peace drum.

- How long have you been creating glucophones? Why did you become interested in this?

I started making my first glucophone exactly three years ago. At that moment I saw videos of it on the Internet and became very interested. I was struck by its sound and attracted by the fact that by playing the rhythm on the hanga, you can build a melody. At that time, I didn’t know much about music, but my sense of rhythm was okay, so I thought I could learn to play it. I started looking for where I could buy it. When I found it, I realized that it was very expensive and difficult to acquire. I started searching further and came across a glucophone (although at that time I did not understand the differences between these instruments, but the sound of both was mesmerizing).

I found prices for a glucophone and realized that I couldn’t afford it either, but at the same time I found many different guides online on how to make one yourself from a gas cylinder. Then it was up to me.

- How difficult is it to do? What metals are used, what knowledge is needed to create a glucophone?

When I started working on my first glucophone, I had neither the skills to work with an angle grinder nor musical theoretical knowledge. There was only a great desire. The first instrument and for about a year since its creation, we made glucophones from old gas cylinders, now from new factory blanks, but the essence is the same. Material - high carbon steel.

The glucophone can have different settings and tones. How can this be achieved? Does each petal have its own note? In general, tell us about how it works.

Each petal of the instrument is tuned to its own note, which is regulated by the size of the petal - the larger the petal, the lower the tone, the smaller the petal, the higher. On the glucophone we make 10 petals, which means 10 notes. The basic principle is that they are all part of one selected harmony (key), so the glucophone is easy to learn and always sounds harmonious. This set of 10 notes gives the instrument a certain mood, within which it is so easy and fun to improvise.

- How are things going in Russia with the production of this instrument? Are there many workshops?

Things are going great in Russia. There are a lot of old gas cylinders here, which means there is a lot of space for creativity (laughs - author's note). Almost anyone can make this instrument themselves, and if they get into it, they can open their own workshop. When I made my first instrument, I saw about 4-5 workshops in Russia on the Internet. Now I know about fifteen workshops, although there are probably more. And some people actually make them for themselves and friends and are not advertised.

- Do you perform yourself? Where can we hear you?

At this time we are preparing material for performances, playing mostly for ourselves, and rehearsing. If we perform, then only at small events, jams, and even then in the format of a “get-together” or, on the contrary, meditation. In St. Petersburg, our friend Maxim Bogdanov regularly holds such events, and meetings with children and adults are constantly held there, where they get acquainted with the instrument and learn the basics of the game.

“For me, glucophone is a personal psychologist, friend and teacher”

How do you see the future of the instrument? Will the professional music community recognize him, or will he remain a “street” participant in jams and informal parties?

I see the future of the instrument as great. I always have the feeling that he appeared for a reason. The professional music community is beginning to take an interest in it, some are already using it in their concerts. We ourselves are developing in this direction, creating our own musical projects. The only thing that the glucophone now lacks for professional musicians is the number of notes. For varied playing and performance of compositions, you need a wide range of notes, from bass to high. And this can be achieved with a glucophone installation. We are working on it now.
It is also very important and valuable that the instrument gains a good reputation in the field of music therapy. For example, in working with autistic children or children with disabilities. The glucophone attracts attention, fascinates, and helps the child concentrate.

Another very interesting moment is the interaction between the instrument and the blind person. We are planning to soon start holding meetings where people with such special needs can get acquainted with this amazing instrument and enjoy intuitive music-making.

The big advantage is that the tool is very durable and almost impossible to damage.

I also believe that with the help of this instrument you can easily and accessiblely teach music and get involved in it at any age. And secondly, even without any training, a person will be able to play it intuitively and have a great time alone with himself, dissolving thoughts in the stream of sound. I think this is the main purpose of the tool - to give to the common man an opportunity to relax and create.

You can concentrate and set some kind of rhythm, tune yourself, immerse yourself in special conscious states. Or, on the contrary, you can let go of everything and, without limited rhythms and melodies, simply extract sounds and listen, imitate rain, ocean, wind, nature, enjoy the sound.

- Pure meditation...

- Yes. A person thinks logically most of his time; the left hemisphere of the brain is more developed in 90% of people due to the fact that the modern system education. It leaves virtually no room for creativity. Even in music and art schools, most of the program is devoted to learning various works, techniques, and so on. In the process of such learning, the left, logical hemisphere works. Even before I met the glucophone, I studied this topic and did various exercises to develop the right one. And when I started playing this instrument, I realized that the glucophone helps to activate it.

Due to this, many positive events occur in life, new solutions are discovered that are seen with an abstract glance. While playing the glucophone, you can perfectly fantasize, draw pictures and images in your head, immerse yourself in them, develop and slow down, in general - everything is like in life. I think that for many people it is no longer a secret that visualization works. In my life, most of the events that happened were born in my head, during the process of meditation. Although I will say that no matter how beautiful you imagine in your head, life turns out even better, albeit not without problems. For me, the glucophone is an excellent guide to such visualization meditations.

The instrument is a little over ten years old, but it, like the hang, seems to have always been there. Its sounds are so primitive, unusual, and authentic. What sensations does playing the glucophone give you, do you feel its “cosmic quality”?

It is most important. For me, glucophone is like a personal psychologist, a friend and a teacher. It always helps to collect thoughts, unwind and set the right background. The “cosmic nature” is simply off the charts: from its appearance and subsequent changes in my life, from the words spoken and written by those who acquired it, from its sounds and even appearance, from the people and events that it attracts. This is definitely a gift! I say this and it gives me goosebumps...

With the advent of the glucophone, a lot began to change in my life. I won’t say it’s abrupt or immediate, but it’s definitely related. Firstly, for me it was an excellent psychological release, immersion in myself. Very often, when something doesn’t work out for me, when I think about something for a long time and cannot find a solution, he helps me do it. In my free moments, before going to bed, I play it, often in the dark, and it simply helps to arrange my thoughts in the right order, it can completely lead the flow in a different direction, and then some answer comes by itself.

It's hard to explain, but that's how it works for me. When the fingers randomly jump on the instrument, the brain does not control these movements, does not follow the rhythm, and then this synchronization of the sound wave and the wave of thoughts occurs.

But there are other sides too. The very first glucophone inspired me to develop myself musically. I felt confident that I could play music and believed that creating music was not so scary and difficult.

The glucophone itself attracts interesting people. When you just play on the street, people come up to the sound and ask what it is. This is how I made many pleasant acquaintances with interesting people. People write to us on social networks and by email from all over our country and many other countries. They write rave reviews and wishes, invite us to visit (and we are already slowly going). This can't help but inspire!

Now I feel like my life is inextricably linked with this instrument. We don't just make glucophones and sell them, we try to give people happiness.

And besides this, we have the opportunity to realize ourselves in music, shooting videos, drawing, conducting events, scientific experiments with sound, travel, bringing people together and communicating with them.

(aka Hapi drum, Dream drum, Tank drum, Hapifon) is a tonal petal drum that allows you to play sounds of different tones on one instrument.

Few people know about the existence of the glucophone - a percussion instrument, a tonal petal drum, although every day its admirers are becoming more and more numerous. On the Internet you can find a lot of videos with glucophones and a fair amount of information on their manufacture and design. And I wanted to make it myself.

It is made from gas cylinders. Ready tool consists of two bowls, one of which is equipped with petals, and the other with resonating holes. The sound of this musical instrument is captivating with its major, minor or integral modes, each of which you can tune the instrument to independently.

I did not use a gas cylinder, since cutting a used cylinder, even a completely empty one, is associated with a serious risk to life! An already used fire extinguisher of the "Buran-8" type (height 20 cm and diameter 25 cm) came in handy. If you wish, you can buy an empty gas cylinder.

The process of turning a fire extinguisher into a musical instrument is very simple: the excess upper and lower parts were sawed off with a grinder, and the petals were sawn on the resulting ball shape according to a template taken from the Internet. Once all the burrs were removed, I sanded the drum and began painting. I used aerosol cans of gold and black paint. First, the balloon was painted with gold paint and wrapped with thick threads. After drying, paint it black. Again, we wait for the paint to dry and remove the yarn; we get gold threads on a black background.

The glucophone is adjusted by the master once and for all! Can be configured using a special application on your smartphone as a tuner. The setup involves sawing through the petals. I myself have no ear for music.

On top I drew eight signs (trigrams), corresponding to the cardinal directions, just according to the number of petals. Sky - North-West, Soil - South-West, Wood - East, Water - North, Mountain - North-East, Wind - South-East, Fire - South, Metal - West. And in the center of the drum he depicted a Chinese character denoting sound. At the bottom I added hieroglyphs: luck, longevity, love.
I advise you to watch videos on the Internet of how professionals play this wonderful instrument!