Building Propane Tank Steel Drums in Senegal

You wouldn’t think that a type of steel drum was invented in Michigan, of all places. But it was.

Dennis Havlena is a master of DIY instruments, from building PVC Highland bagpipes to tennis racquet banjos. The Michigan-based musician made a breakthrough when he began making propane tank hang drums. It led him to building propane tank hang drum and doing workshops in Senegal.

As the inventor of the "hank drum" (a combination of the words "hang" and "tank"), Havlena invented the instrument in 2007 for a love of the sound. Also known as the steel tongue drum, Havlena’s hank drum is preceeded by similar renditions, like the Whale Drum by Jim Doble and the Tambiro by Felle Vega. There are now many commercial versions of his own hank drum now being sold for hundreds of bucks on eBay.

Havlena seems to always be ready for more workshops (he even writes on his website: “Anyone overseas want me to do a workshop? No pay needed, just flight and expenses”). In between instrument-inventing, he took some time to chat about his propane tank workshops in Senegal and what it takes to make propane tanks sing.

Footage from Denis Halvena’s workshop in Dakar

Noisey: When did you begin doing the propane tank musical workshops in Senegal?
Dennis Havlena: I had done a number of workshops here in the States, and then I was invited to do an extended workshop in Senegal by the German Goethe Institute. At present, there is a chance that musical organizations in Japan and France might eventually have me do workshops.

Where did you source the propane tanks? Were they difficult to find?
The Home Depot stores here all sell the required empty propane tanks for around $28. Upon arriving in Africa, I saw that they use quite different, thicker metal, smaller-sized propane tanks. This caused me much concern, as my hank drums was the instrument they wanted me to mainly concentrate on. I experimented and found that the African tanks (actually 6KG tanks made in France) did indeed work fine.

What was the experience like for you? Did the workshops go well?
Extremely well, I really liked the participants and they liked me. It was a group of very industrious Sufi Muslim mostly young men who lived in a great crafts village on the sea in Dakar, making metal sculptures, drums, gourd art and more. I was assigned an excellent interpreter. Also, there were several local school teachers and musicians who were not part of the Sufi group. Everybody got along wonderfully and I cannot stress how much I loved doing the workshop.

Wow! Did musicians play the propane tanks (i.e. Mali blues)?
Yes, as we made the instruments, quite often, everyone would break into spontaneous music-making.

What do propane tanks symbolize in Senegal?
As I saw it, propane tanks were everywhere. Rich and poor, it seemed the main way to cook.

Since first building the Indian Tamboura, you’ve made a lot of instruments from discarded materials. What other instruments do you make and what are your favourite materials?
Recently, I have been on a gourd kick, building west African koras, ngonis, gonis, etc. many of my materials I get in the junk pile.

What are you working on next? Do you have any workshops or shows upcoming?
Two things, a ukulele made from a cut-up dead guitar neck and a smallish gourd. Also, I am converting a "Hannah Montana" guitar into a hurdy gurdy for a friend.

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