My darling dear gifted me with one of those little metal dome drums, allegedly good for calming and meditating.
Does ring BEAUTIFULLY.
But for playing an actual SONG?
1. The parts one hits for the melody notes are numbered, BUT the numbers are had to SEE, so keeping the notes flowing at a steady pace is difficult, if not upfucculated.
2. The notes are not NEXT to each other, so logic is not useful.
(I understand that this is necessary, but that doesn't obligate me to LIKE it.)
3. The SUSTAIN of the notes is NICE, if one is hitting them at random, to produce a calming effect, but doesn't help with the flow of an actual song, where the note should just maybe SHUT UP and let the NEXT note be heard by itself.
All y'all's comments are welcome
... like these bad boys?? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steelpan
Are some convcave and others convex? Several years back we looked at some [humped (?) up in my mind] in a music store .... I thought we bought a set (?) for a set of grandkids, but my wife says we didn't. So that settles that!!
My logic has mostly failed me at banjo ... maybe ^^ would be better [says the guy who found plenty of wrong notes on a "no wrong notes" strumstick]. It's "magic," I tells ya! 
Edited by - Owen on 11/04/2025 07:06:02
I didn't think that you played songs on them. Used for summoning spirits and chanting the Om, I think.
I suspect MG is talking about one of these.
Portico Quartet made extensive use of them on their first 2-3 albums.
Bill-e, "chanting" reminds me of m-a-n-y years back ..... I don't recall the ailment, but after her examination the doc [a real M.D. doc, fwiw] paused to consider the options. So I suggested (?) something akin to: "Oh, I thought maybe you could do a few chants over a dead chicken." I guess she wasn't expecting to hear that, and asked me to repeat it. I did .... and she accepted it in the spirit (?) in which it was offered. 
Edited by - Owen on 11/04/2025 08:40:02
I know of a gal who calls herself a "mystic healer" and holds "sacred sound sessions" with her gongs and metal dome drums. Hippy dippy whatever.
Mr. Barnacle has it right.
We also got a songbook, which gives numbers above the appropriate words, including some folk and/or bluegrass favorites.
I'll keep trying, but it BETTER be good for "calming", because, as for playing songs, it is whatever the OPPOSITE of "calming" is.
Is "DAMMIT" the opposite of "Om"?
By the way:
If I say "ALEXA, play Steel Drum Calypso", our Evil Robot plays beautiful renditions of songs on what Mr. Own has pictured.
