The steel tongue drum (aka tong drum, tank drum, gluck-o-phone, hapi drum, mandala, or lotus drum) and the handpan (aka hank drum, UFO drum, zen drum) are percussion musical instruments designed to help you focus on your feelings, sensations, and body. You don't need classical music training or knowledge of music theory to play them. The main purpose is relaxation, meditation, and traveling through your inner world.

Playing traditional music notes is difficult for people who have no musical knowledge. You need to know the rhythmic value of each note, its place on the staff, note duration, and its combination with other notes. To be aware of all this simultaneously demands music experience and advanced skills. Nevertheless, even if you have never studied music, you can begin to play complicated melodies, and also experiment with your tongue drum in a meditative way.

No previous training or skills are necessary to enjoy these fascinating instruments. It is impossible to play them incorrectly. Anyone can play them: those who want to develop a good sense of rhythm and an ear for music, those who are seeking relaxation after a hard day at work, those who have always had an interest in learning how to play a musical instrument, and those who want to introduce something unusual into their lives and explore their inner selves.

All songs in this book have been written without using the classic music score system because it is for absolute beginners who cannot read sheet music. We collect very simple and well-known songs and melodies with easy rhythms. You can begin to play just now using circles that contain either a number, without having to consider note duration, key, or time signatures. These numbers correspond to those on the keys of your tongue drum. So you just need to follow the numbers.

We use circles with numbers because most modern tongue drums have numbers engraved or painted on their keys. We do not show the note duration - we just group the circles closer to each other to show the rhythms. You can experiment with a duration on your own. Because most tongue drums include and are tuned to involve the notes of the main octave, all songs from this book are possible to play in one octave. This book includes very simple, popular children's and folk songs, but even well-known children's songs played on the drum will create an unusual magical sound.

Attention: Songs have been transposed for a DIATONIC range. Some melodies might be changed and simplified.