The X-Ray Talking Drum can be played like any other hand drum. While some will find it most natural to hold it between the knees (like a set of bongos or an African djembe) or run a length of clothesline between the drum body and suspension and sling it over one’s shoulder like Ricky Ricardo playing a conga, I prefer to tuck it under my left arm like a Middle Eastern doumbek. I then play it primarily with the fingertips on my right hand and use my left to mute the head, provide counterpoint, and pull on the suspension, shifting the drum’s pitch so that it “talks.”
Unlike most hand drums—especially those with natural hide heads—the X-Ray Talking Drum can take a lot of abuse, including being left in direct sunlight, a hot car, a damp basement, or out in the rain. You can even bang on it with drumsticks (which will cut right through a goatskin head) or mallets (like those used to play xylophone). A good mallet can be made by drilling a 5/32″ hole into a high-bounce ball (e.g., the ones you get from a supermarket vending machine), filling the hole with glue, and inserting a piece of dowel, a chopstick, or a sharpened pencil.
If you’ve never played a hand drum before, here are two tips:
Use a light touch—everyone bangs loudly at first, and it’s hard to sound good while making a crazy damn racket. Focus on using your fingertips as a single unit, and hit the drum firmly with a loose wrist, so the fingers naturally bounce back, letting the drumhead resonate freely.
Explore the drumhead for different tones. The center of the head will have the deepest tone, but it will also be fairly flat, because of the blocky shape of the X-Ray Talking Drum. The tone will get higher as you move out toward the edge, with the rim singing out as a high, ringing tone that’s very responsive to “talking” by putting pressure on the suspension. Experiment with muting tones with your free hand or by letting your hand “deaden” the head rather than bounce back as you play.