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Everything you need to know about Tongue Drum
Tongue Drum Online is a free, browser-based virtual steel tongue drum simulator powered by real-time modal synthesis. It accurately reproduces the resonant, meditative sound of a physical steel tongue drum — also known as a tank drum, hank drum, or glucophone — without any audio samples or downloads. Simply open the page, choose a scale, and start playing immediately on desktop, mobile, or tablet.
Unlike sample-based virtual instruments, every sound is generated from first principles using the physics of vibrating steel plates. A bank of eight resonant modes with inharmonic frequency ratios produces each note, with additional modeling of body resonance, sympathetic vibration between tongues, micro detuning for warmth, velocity-sensitive brightness, and pitch drift from nonlinear excitation. The result is a living, expressive sound that responds naturally to how hard and fast you play.
Tongue Drum Online is completely free to use, requires no sign-up or plugin installation, and is installable as a Progressive Web App for offline use. It is suitable for all ages and skill levels — including complete beginners, music students, meditators, ASMR enthusiasts, world music explorers, and professional musicians looking for a quick and inspiring creative tool.
To make this beautiful instrument accessible to everyone — for relaxation, learning, and creativity. No downloads, no accounts.
Modal synthesis is a physical modelling technique that models an object's resonant behaviour as a sum of damped sinusoidal modes. For a steel tongue drum, the dominant physical parameters are the length, width, and thickness of each tongue, which determine the natural frequency and decay rate of each mode. Tongue Drum Online implements eight modes per note with frequency ratios tuned to match measurements of real drums.
Additional acoustic features include: Helmholtz body resonance (the air cavity inside the drum amplifies certain frequency bands), velocity-dependent filtering (harder strikes produce brighter, more overtone-rich tones), nonlinear pitch drift (the pitch of a tongue bends slightly just after being struck, mimicking real steel behaviour), micro detuning (each mode has a tiny random frequency offset, preventing the sterile perfection of pure synthesis), and sympathetic resonance (striking one tongue causes neighbouring tongues to vibrate softly at shared harmonic frequencies). A convolution reverb with early reflections and frequency-dependent decay time adds the sense of acoustic space around the instrument.
Tongue Drum Online offers 26 built-in scales across five categories, plus a custom scale builder:
Each scale is pre-tuned to the most common tongue drum root note for that mode, so the instrument sounds authentic right out of the box. The custom scale builder lets you assign any MIDI note to each of the fourteen tongues, enabling unique personal tunings. Read about every scale in the tongue drum scale guide.
To play Tongue Drum Online, click or tap any of the fourteen petals on the drum face. Each petal corresponds to one note in the selected scale. The longer petals at the bottom produce lower notes; the shorter petals toward the top produce higher notes. On a keyboard, press keys 1 through 9, 0, Q, W, E and T to play the corresponding notes from lowest to highest.
To change the scale, click the settings gear icon in the top-right corner and choose from the scale dropdown. To add reverb, use the Reverb slider. To hear a generated melody, press Space bar or click Auto Play and adjust the BPM with the + and – buttons. To record, press R; press again to stop, then click the Play button to listen back.
Choose a melody — each note lights up as you play. Follow at your own pace.
A steel tongue drum (also known as a tank drum, hank drum, or glucophone) is a percussion instrument made from steel with tongues cut into the surface. Each tongue produces a unique musical note when struck. Invented by Dennis Havlena in 2007, it has become one of the most popular meditative instruments worldwide.
A free, browser-based physically modeled steel tongue drum. Unlike sample-based instruments, every sound is generated in real-time using modal synthesis — the same technique used in professional studio plugins. No downloads or plugins required.
Built with Web Audio API and HTML5 Canvas. The sound engine uses modal synthesis — each note excites a bank of 8 resonant modes with inharmonic frequency ratios derived from steel plate vibration theory. Features include Helmholtz body resonance, velocity-dependent brightness filtering, pitch drift from nonlinear vibration, micro detuning for warmth, and sympathetic resonance between tongues. The reverb uses a custom impulse response with frequency-dependent decay. No audio samples — everything is physics.
26 built-in scales spanning Western, world, blues, modal, and exotic traditions. Click any scale to switch to it instantly.
Yes — 100% free, forever. No account, no subscription, no ads, no in-app purchases. Just open the page and play.
Yes. The interface is fully touch-optimized and works on iOS and Android. You can also install it as a Progressive Web App: tap "Add to Home Screen" in your browser for an app icon and offline access.
No. Everything runs in your browser using the Web Audio API and HTML5 Canvas. There are no plugins, Flash, or downloads required.
No samples at all. Every sound is generated in real time using modal synthesis — a physics-based technique that models the vibration of real steel plates. Each tongue excites a bank of 8 resonant modes with inharmonic frequency ratios matching actual steel tongue drum measurements. This produces a living, responsive sound that changes with how hard and fast you strike.
A steel tongue drum (also called a tank drum, hank drum, or glucophone) is a percussion instrument made from a steel cylinder or shell with elongated "tongues" cut into the top surface. Each tongue vibrates at a specific pitch when struck. Invented in 2007 by Dennis Havlena, the instrument has roots in the steelpan and the Hang drum. It has become hugely popular for meditation, yoga, music therapy, and casual playing because its pentatonic tunings make it nearly impossible to play a dissonant note.
Yes. Press R to start recording (a red border appears), then press R again to stop. The recording is saved as a standard WAV file that you can download to your device. Maximum recording length is 2 minutes.
Each scale is a different set of pitches with a different emotional character. Pentatonic is universally harmonious — ideal to start. Minor is melancholic and expressive. Akebono and Hirajoshi are Japanese scales with a meditative, sparse quality. Hijaz and Persian evoke the Middle East. Blues is soulful and gritty. Use the Scales page in this menu to browse them all with descriptions, or just switch scales and listen — your ears will tell you.
Yes. Open Settings and scroll down to the Custom Scale Builder. You can assign any note (C through B) and any octave (3–6) to each of the 14 tongues and save it as a named custom scale.
After your first visit, the app can be installed as a PWA (Progressive Web App). On desktop Chrome/Edge, look for the install icon in the address bar. On mobile, use "Add to Home Screen". The installed version works fully offline.
By design — this mimics real steel tongue drum behaviour. Harder strikes (clicking quickly) produce brighter, more metallic tones rich in high overtones. Softer strikes produce warmer, more fundamental tones with fewer harmonics. This velocity sensitivity is part of the modal synthesis model.
Not a native app, but the PWA installs like one. Add to Home Screen from your mobile browser for a full-screen app experience with an icon. It works completely offline once installed.
Absolutely — recommended, in fact. Headphones reveal the full stereo width of the instrument: each tongue is panned slightly by its physical position on the drum, exactly like recording a real instrument in a studio. The reverb tail also sounds much richer through headphones.
A free, meditative steel tongue drum in your browser. Tap any petal to play — no downloads or accounts needed.
Practice Mode highlights the next note for you. Pick any melody and follow along at your own pace — perfect for beginners.
Change scales, add reverb, record your playing. Everything is free — forever.