How does a handpan work?

If you have come on a quest to find out how a handpan works, you have probably seen one and asked yourself the same question as we did at the beginning, but how can the handpan make such beautiful music?

How does a handpan work?

When nitrided steel is machined into a certain shape, it has dimples that are tuned to a diatonic scale. When struck, the dimples emit the notes. The tone is produced by affecting the air inside them, which is released through a hole in the lower half of the pan. They are usually tuned in a single scale, so even without musical knowledge, almost anyone can make beautiful music with a well-tuned handpan.

How does a handpan produce a sound?

The sounds produced by a handpan are simply vibrations of sound fields generated on the surface of the handpan.

Each membrane has a different size. The larger the field, the deeper the sound. The smaller it is, the higher the note.
The notes vibrate in the vacuum of the two halves, are naturally amplified and come out of the lower hole. Melodies are created by striking the top of the handpan with the hands. The fingers and thumbs or other parts of the hands striking the various notes create the tones.

At the top of the handpan are all the notes. They are known as dimples and are inverted depressions in the steel in certain sizes. When struck, they produce a sound. In most cases, the lower section is uniform, without dimples, with a hole at the bottom that releases the sound, the notes, produced by striking the upper section around the dimples.

Must read: How do you choose your handpan ?

What is the diatonic scale?

A diatonic scale has seven tones. It consists of five whole tones and two semitones for each octave.

Let's take a handpan with eight notes (7+ the DING). You can see how easy it is to apply a perfect diatonic scale to the instrument. Of course, handpans are not limited to these notes. Often instruments with more notes are made. They are usually more expensive. The more notes there are, the greater the margin of error in tuning, and it may be that a mediocre manufacturer considers the higher notes to be quite quiet.

Does a handpan only work with your hands?

The name says it all, but there are plenty of accessories you can buy to play on your handpan.

Use gloves to play on the handpan

First of all, let's talk about gloves. You still play with your hands, but the gloves introduce changes to the sound of your instrument. The notes will be noticeably shorter, a bit more muffled, and the volume will be lower.

Use the mallets to play on the handpan

You can also play the handpan with mallets. However, I do not recommend this and you should only play very lightly and softly. Your handpan will go out of tune much faster. Different mallet stops produce different tones and resonances. However, this is not the case for me. I feel like a steel drum again and I want my tuning to last a long time.

So a handpan is like a drum?

In a way it is similar, because the striking of the handpan produces the sound and the notes, but unlike a drum, steel does not produce the notes when it is under tension.

Rather, it is the opposite, as the areas of the steel notes are subjected to what is called compressive stress. This means that the steel is pushed outwards. In reality, the steel is deformed. Each note is a carefully deformed area to a certain extent: each note works in harmony with the others in a certain scale.

Not only is the note taken as air, but, by a very clever process, harmonics are introduced to further enrich the sound. The distinctive vibrational frequencies are also provided.

Is it difficult to learn the handpan?

It's nice to have a handpan, but to operate a handpan you have to learn how to play it. Fortunately, unlike most musical instruments, the beauty of the handpan is that you can be making music in an hour. It is very unlikely to go out of tune, especially if you have bought a good one. Because the handpan is intuitive, it can be played improvisationally.

Restassured that the handpan is very easy to play. It may take you an hour to get used to your handpan and to hit it correctly. After that hour, you will begin to understand the basic process of playing the handpan through trial and error.

Consider a video course that teaches you how to play the handpan. In this day and age, video courses are easily accessible, inexpensive for the long-term value they provide, and a convenient way to divide your time between the times you want to learn. We always recommend checking out Mr. David Charrier's free courses 🙂 .

Don't hesitate to explore Youtube. There are a large number of videos with tips, tricks and instructions on how to play. However, the best thing to do is to try it out. You will be surprised how fast you can make music.

How does a 440hz or 432hz handpan work?

OK, we're getting a bit technical here, but it's very relevant. Most instruments can be tuned to 440hz, but many musicians like or would like to tune to 432hz.

We won't go into the theories about 432hz here. If you have the slightest idea what I'm talking about now, you already know.

The handpan is a very spiritual instrument. When playing it, one can have the feeling of being at one with nature. The 432 Hz tuning is believed to have healing properties. It can soothe and connect intrinsically with the vibrations of life and nature.

Can you hear the difference? Only with difficulty, but you can ‘feel’ it.

My handpan is not working!