The HandPan the new instrument from which beautiful melodies are

The HandPan, the new instrument from which beautiful melodies are born Radio Guamá

You may not be aware of this, but surely you have heard the music emanating from the hand pan.

This term is used to name a group of musical instruments that are similar to and derived from each other hanging.

Here we present two of them. Their shapes are so strange that they look like flying saucers, which is why they are sometimes called “UFO drums”. Despite their similarity, they have major differences.

hand pan

It consists of two metal bowls, called “shells”, which are joined together, leaving a hollow area in the middle.

In the center of the upper bowl is the central note, called the “ding”, surrounded by the remaining notes, all in the form of hammer-shaped dimples. In the lower shell, also in the center, there is a hole called “Gu” that allows air to escape from the inner chamber.

The tones are tuned harmonically around a in the upper hemisphere central low note called DING with circles containing the nine distinct musical tones surrounding the largest central circle, the thing, which has a sound reminiscent of the gong. That deep tone can upset you Helmholtz resonance when played a certain way. The frequency of the Helmholtz resonance can be changed by varying the size of the opening with the knees.

That Hemisphere below, it’s called GU and here you can also make notes. Depending on the scale and the number of tones, up to 12 tones or more can be placed, spread over the top and bottom of the handpan. There is an opening in the lower sphere to create the resonance that amplifies the sound generated inside.

The material it is made of is naturally sonorous (metal), so it is a idiophones. In addition, it is part of the percussion group since the hands and fingers are used to create the sound.

The steel used is not always nitrided steel, stainless steel is also used, i.e. rust-free. You can choose between these two types of steel to build the instrument.

Another term commonly used for this type of instrument, especially in Israel, is Pantam.

What is the slope?

That hanging It is a melodic percussion instrument. It was created in Bern (Switzerland).), so it is a very young instrument. It is not for nothing that Hang means “hand” in the Bernese dialect.

It was Felix Rohner and Sabina Schärer from PANArt who created the first Hang prototype. Its precursors were the steelpan (metallic drum), originally from Trinidad and Tobago; and the Gatham from India.

PANArt decided to use the Hang name as a trademark for their own creations, so other instrument makers inspired by the original decided to use handpan as a common name for all these instruments.

Although the makers of the Hang regrettably decided to stop making units of this instrument as of 2014, many handpan derivatives can be found around the world.

The incorrect, albeit very widespread, designation of these instruments as hang drums, i.e. drums, is also controversial.it is.

reed drumderivative instruments.

Why shouldn’t it be called Hang Drum? Because they aren’t actually drums, because to be a drum it should have a membrane. And as mentioned, these instruments are idiophones, they don’t need a membrane to produce a sound.

/With information from percusionistas.com