that substantially extends the slope of the ring section 122 in some embodiments the two side sections 128 may provide protection for the percussionist for example by forming the outward edges of the side sections 128 in a smooth curve the percussionist may be protected from hitting his or her had directly on the bottom section 130 and causing possible discomfort or injury fig4 is an enlarged view of the hand drum 100 wherein one of the tuning assemblies 140 is shown in an exploded view to better illustrate its components although all the tuning assemblies 140 have substantially identical construction for the sake of clarity of the illustration only the components shown in the exploded view are numbered each of the tuning assemblies 140 includes a side plate assembly 150 the side plate assembly 150 includes a base plate 152 affixed to the outer periphery of the shell 102 by bolts 154 adhesives or other forms of fasteners a receiving portion 156 extends outward substantially normal to the base plate 152 the receiving portion 156 includes a hole 158 oriented substantially vertically with reference to the shell 102 a bumper 160 made of a soft or compliant material e g rubber plastic foam wood substantially covers the receiving portion 156 in some implementations the bumper 160 may protect the receiving portion 156 from damage may protect the percussionist from being injured if he were to bump into the receiving portion 156 and or prevent the hand.