The handpan is the newest class of musical instrument. Invented at the turn of the century, the handpan was inspired by the steelpan from Trinidad and Tobago. The original instrument was called the Hang (pronounced ‘hong’) and was developed by Swiss steelpan builders. The popular term handpan was coined by Kyle Cox from Pantheon Steel. Although it is a percussive instrument, it is classified as an idiophone and is not considered a drum.
UFO Structure
The handpan is made from two sheets of steel that have been hammered out and glued together to look like a flying saucer. It’s basically two inverted steelpans that have been glued together. The major difference between the notes on handpans and steelpans is that large dimples are hammered in the center of each note. These dimples give the handpan a much warmer and softer sound than the bright sound of steelpans. The handpan tends to sound more like a harp, piano, dulcimer, or xylophone because of this.
Handpans are Made in Musical Scales
What does this mean? Typically, each instrument is only made with 5-7 different notes. These 5-7 notes make up a musical scale, meaning all the notes sound good together. There are often more than 5-7 total notes on a single handpan, maybe even some bottom notes. However, there are only 5-7 different notes and then the scale will repeat in the next octave, higher in pitch than the previous notes. For example, a popular scale is the D minor handpan. This has the notes D, E, F, G, A, Bb, and C, then the notes would repeat in higher pitch (typically 1-3 octaves). In contrast, pianos and guitars have 12 different notes (consider that multiple handans are needed to achieve the range of these instruments). Although they have many more than 12 notes total, just like handpans, they have 12 different notes and then the notes repeat (typically 4-7 octaves). Not all of these 12 notes go together, so playing random notes may not sound as pleasant. Since all of the notes on the handpan fit together in the same musical scale, playing random notes on a handpan sounds much more pleasant and leaves the player feeling empowered to make music. This makes handpans ideal for intuitive play and conducive to meditation and flow states.
Handpans are Hand Tuned
There is a hole, or port, on the bottom of the handpan that is used to tune the notes. Handpans need to be tuned every few years by an experienced tuner with a small hammer through this port. Each note is precisely hammered to tune a fundamental tone and two harmonics: an octave and a compound fifth. These tuned harmonics add to the rich and full sound of the handpan and can be activated independently, similar to how you can activate harmonics on a guitar. Interestingly, the port can be covered and the instrument still produces sound. This makes it easy to feel the sound waves, as they are emitted through the steel and not the port. The sound waves can also be manipulated to alter the sound.