What is a Handpan?
Handpan is a melodic percussion instrument played exclusively with the hands, characterized by two domes joined together forming a sound box with one series of notes impressed on it. Handcrafted by expert craftsmen, each Handpan is a unique work of art, designed to produce resonant sounds and harmonic.
Materials and manufacturing
They are generally made of stainless steel or nitrided steel. The creation process includes shaping, hammering and tempering the material to achieve the desired notes and ensuring they are perfectly in tune and long-lasting.
Notes and scales
The scales are divided into two groups: minor and major scales. The minor scales have more relaxing, meditative, sometimes sad sounds. The major scales recall more celestial, joyful, comforting sounds.
How to choose the right Handpan?
The best thing to do is to try them in person to understand which instrument has the sounds closest to our personal tastes.
Another very useful thing is to watch a lot of videos with headphones and let yourself be carried away, in this way we will discover in a natural and immediate way which scale is right for us.
After which, based on our level of experience, we will evaluate the scale complexity best suited to us. The more notes we have, the more possibilities we will have to express our emotions translated into music, but at the same time it will require more technical skills.
The price
Handpan prices vary greatly depending on the manufacturer, brand reputation, number of notes and of quality. However, the price of a Handpan does not always reflect the quality of the instrument.
Prices can therefore fluctuate a lot. Instruments with more notes, for example also with bottom notes, are often much more expensive because they are more difficult to make and tune.