Introducing the HAPPY Drum (Hand Activated Percussion Instrument)
Can anyone play a HAPPY? Sure! Anyone who wants an easy to play intuitive instrument can play one. You don't need a musical background to enjoy it. The HAPPY Drum is ideal for jamming and playing percussive beats. The drum head layout makes it easy to jump right into grooving rhythms. Enjoy creating a soothing harmonic journey with your HAPPY. You will love being able to add a melodic component to your beats. An intuitive arrangement to the notes makes it easy to explore new musical horizons. The strong meditative tones are calming and great for relaxing anytime, or kick it up a notch and play hard and fast. And because of its compact design you can take it outside and enjoy it in nature. Your next camping trip will not be complete without a HAPPY time around the campfire. The HAPPY is just as comfortable outside in the park, as it is in the music studio.

How is the tone created?
The unique tone of the HAPPY Drum is created by a tuned vibrating tongue of steel. The concept is similar to a wooden tongue drum. When a tongue is quickly and lightly struck with the finger or mallet, it vibrates creating sound waves. By changing the shape and length of the tongue, optimal vibration and perfect tone is achieved. By arranging the notes in our unique way each note when struck excites surrounding notes that are musically compatible with it. This adds to the harmonic spectrum of the tone. Rather than just one tone we can now create a spectrum of supporting sound for each note. The tone is similar to singing bowls or musical bells which create multiple harmonic overtones. The body of the drum acts as a resonating chamber adding depth to the note. We have carefully chosen an opening port in the bottom of the drum that serves three functions. The bottom hole allows the sound to escape and increases the volume. It releases the tone from the body so that the notes do not overlap each other too much. This is especially desirable for faster playing. It allows the player to open or close the port with their lap and chose different resonance levels for a different effect. We have added additional dampening of the notes and drum body to keep the drum from becoming discordant and “ringy”. Our breakthrough proprietary technique built into each drum provides excellent resonance while supplying the correct amount of dampening.

Why is it unique?
We have created some unique design parameters that make the best possible steel tongue percussion drum. Our Patent Pending note layout adds harmonic tones to each note when played. This creates a more complex and musical tone to each note. By placing low notes next to the appropriate higher note we can achieve multiple harmonics. Their vibrations create desirable overtones which compliment the timbre of the tone. We use a compact drum body that easily fits in your lap. The head is 12 inches across allowing for easy reach to all of the notes. A true rectangular shape rather than the usual “Tongue” shape of a note produces a clearer sound. By using an ideal height to width ratio for different notes we have been able to improve the amplitude of the note and create better balance. Tone accuracy is of the utmost importance. Each note is carefully hand tuned using a strobe tuner for complete control of the tuning process. The nature of the vibrating tongue allows for note stability which makes retuning unnecessary. This means each HAPPY is a stable and reliable instrument.

How is it played?
We recommend playing the HAPPY with the pads of your fingers. A wide range of sounds can be created with different techniques. Playing by hand connects you with the drum in the way that traditional drums are enjoyed. A minimal amount of force creates a big sound on our drums. We also supply each drum with mallets designed to bring out the pure sound of each note. Our mallets eliminate “head slap” creating a very clear tone. The arrangement of the notes make going up and down the scale very easy. Also one hand can reach two or three notes simultaneously for chord playing.

What does each HAPPY drum include?
Each Drum comes with a pair of mallets and a padded carry bag.

Greg Sheehan is one of Australia's premier and most innovative percussionists, widely regarded internationally as an expert in his field. We were very excited to have Greg hang out at Didgeridoo Breath and rock it out on the Happy Drum! Check out this video...