Tap the ding in the centre and the tone fields around it: every note rings for seconds and blends with the next. Tap near the middle of a field for a full tone, near its edge for a softer one, and on the bare shell for a slap. Change the scale and the whole instrument retunes.
A handpan is a rare and expensive instrument. This one costs nothing, fits on a phone, and changes scale at the click of a menu.
The ding, the dome in the centre, is the deepest note. Around it, the tone fields climb in a zigzag: the lowest at the bottom, the next on the left, the next on the right, up to the highest at the top. Your hands alternate naturally, which is what gives handpan playing its rolling, circular feel.
A real handpan is tuned once and for all. Here, choose D Kurd, the most popular scale, warm and minor; D Celtic minor, without its sixth; D Hijaz, with the augmented second of Middle Eastern music; F Pygmy, a dark pentatonic; or C Aegean, bright and open. The fields retune instantly.
Each tone field of a handpan is tuned to ring at three pitches at once: the note, its octave and the fifth above that. GOONS synthesizes those three partials, slightly detuned in pairs for the slow shimmer of hammered steel, and lets them fade over several seconds, so notes overlap into chords.
Strike the centre of a field and the note comes out full and round; strike near its edge and it is softer, with fewer overtones. Tap the bare steel between the fields for a slap, the percussive accent players use to keep time, or press Space on your keyboard.
Two grooves written for the handpan, Kurd Groove and Spiral, play in every scale, because they are written in tone fields rather than notes. Listen to them with the fields lighting up, then play them note by note: the next field glows and waits for your hand.
Handpan music is often built in layers: a bass ostinato on the ding, a melody on top. Open the LP-3 loop station in another tab and stack your grooves, or record them straight into GOONS Studio.
Tap the dome in the centre: it is the lowest note, the root of the scale. Use it as your pulse.
Play the fields from the bottom one upwards, alternating left and right: you are playing the scale.
Tap the bare shell between the fields, or press Space, on the off-beats to give the groove a backbeat.
Choose Kurd Groove, press Listen, then Play along: the next field glows until you strike it.
| Type | Handpan, playable on this page, free |
|---|---|
| Layout | Central ding and 8 or 9 tone fields in a zigzag, lowest at the bottom, highest at the top |
| Scales | D Kurd (D3, A3 Bb3 C4 D4 E4 F4 G4 A4 C5), D Celtic minor, D Hijaz, F Pygmy, C Aegean |
| Sound | Modal synthesis: fundamental, octave and compound fifth, detuned pairs, ring time up to 7 seconds, room reverb |
| Strikes | Centre or edge of a field (full or soft tone), slap on the shell |
| Songs | Two GOONS grooves that play in every scale and public domain tunes, with listen and play-along modes |
| Controls | Mouse, touch with several fingers, computer keyboard by key position, Space for the slap |
| Requirements | Any modern browser with Web Audio - Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Safari |
A handpan is a steel instrument made of two shells joined at the rim, played with the hands on the lap. The top shell carries the ding and a ring of tone fields; the bottom one has an opening that makes the body resonate. The first instrument of this kind, the Hang, was created in Bern, Switzerland, in 2000 by Felix Rohner and Sabina Schärer of PANArt, drawing on the steel pans of Trinidad and Tobago. Instruments made by other makers since are called handpans.
Each handpan is built in one scale, named after its ding and its character. D Kurd, the bestseller, is a D minor scale with A as the lowest field: almost any sequence sounds musical. Celtic minor drops the sixth for a folk colour; Hijaz adds the augmented second heard in Middle Eastern and flamenco music; Pygmy is a five-note scale with a dark mood; Aegean is a bright major-sounding scale with a raised fourth.
The handpan comes from the steel pan of Trinidad and Tobago, played with sticks, with many more notes. The steel tongue drum, cheaper, is cut with tongues rather than hammered fields, and sounds closer to a kalimba. The handpan sits between the two: few notes, long sustain, played with the fingers.
Yes. The handpan at the top of this page is free, with no account and nothing to install. It runs in your browser with the Web Audio API.
D Kurd. It is the most common handpan scale: a minor scale in which almost every combination of notes sounds good, so you can improvise from the first minute.
The middle row of letters plays from the ding upwards: on a QWERTY keyboard A is the ding, S the lowest field, and so on. Press Space for a slap on the shell. Choose Keys in the labels to see each key on its field.
The Hang is the instrument created by PANArt in 2000, and Hang is their trademark. Instruments of the same kind made by other makers are called handpans. "Hang drum" is often used for both, although PANArt never called the Hang a drum.
A real handpan rings for several seconds, and players let notes overlap into chords. To stop a note, strike another one, or lower the Room control for a drier sound.
The handpan is free, with no account. GOONS Studio adds a looper, synths, drum machines and a sequencer that play together - free for 7 days, no card required.
Free on this page, no account. Play the online kalimba →