Nov 27, 2012 - Over the last decade a number of adventurous instrument makers have used steel pans, propane tanks and custom alloy "shells" to create a new breed of melodic percussion: steel tongue drums. Borrowing design concepts from traditional wood models, steel versions feature "tongues" of varying lengths...

May 19, 2012 - Introduced in 1963 and discontinued only two years later, the Guitaret was an invention of Ernst Zacharias, the mind behind other Hohner instruments like the Clavinet, Cembalet and Pianet. Marketed as an easy-to-play instrument to mimic guitar or banjo, the actual sound sits somewhere between an...

Nov 17, 2010 - With origins dating to the 1500s, the mbira's combination of driving melody, rhythm and percussive "zing" has deep spiritual and cultural roots to areas of Africa. Sometimes referred to as a "finger xylophone", mbiras are equipped with hand-forged iron "keys" attached to a wooden sounding board,...