Handpan History: A Brief Overview of the Instrument's Origins and Evolution
- Tim Sanchez
- 2 days ago
- 3 min read
When and Where Was the Handpan Invented? A Historical Overview
While still a relatively young instrument, the handpan has a global influence with handpan makers and communities across the world dedicated to sharing its unique musical properties. Everyone has a different story of how they first came to discover this instrument, but how did the handpan come into being in the first place? From its humble origins to worldwide recognition, let’s take a look at the history and development of the handpan.
Steelpan Ancestors
In the 1930s in Tobago and Trinidad, locals crafted the original steelpans from oil barrels. These instruments had a distinctly bright and wild quality that retained the percussive roots of the African culture their local creators came from. After becoming an integral part of the Caribbean music scene, steelpan bands began playing across the world, bringing the steelpan to new countries where future handpan builders were inspired by this original instrument.
The PANArt Hang
In the late 90’s in Bern, Switzerland, PANArt founders Felix Rohner and Sabina Schärer began to experiment with the creation of a new instrument. They had been making steel pans for decades and sought to merge its characteristics with those of other instruments including Indian ghatam, Thai gong, and Indonesian Gamelan. The PANArt Hang was first introduced in 2001 at the Musikmesse Frankfurt, after which PANArt shifted its focus to the production of the Hang in multiple different scales. The name “Hang” specifically comes from the word for “hand” in Bernese German.
From Steelpan to Handpan
While inspired by steelpans and created by steelpan makers, the Hang took on an identity all its own. By taking the unique tonal qualities of the steelpan and applying them to an instrument that could be played like a hand drum, the Hang had its own softer, ethereal, and hypnotic charm. A large part of the magic of the Hang comes from the simple fact that hand drums offer a wider array of potential techniques than instruments played with mallets. Another crucial difference is that steelpans are mostly chromatic, while handpans tend to have a set scale that does not include all 12 chromatic notes, making it approachable for even the greenest beginners.
The Handpan is Born
After the success of the Hang, various other manufacturers and craftsmen began building their own style instruments inspired by this initial idea. As they experimented with different manufacturing processes, materials, and scales, the instruments grew far beyond the original Hang and into a larger group of instruments. Since the name “Hang” is trademarked by PANArt and the instruments being made around the world were increasingly different from the original Hang sound sculpture, the term “Handpan” became the most common name to refer to this newly created group of percussion instruments. One other common alternative term used by some builders and players is “Pantam”, a combination of the words “pan” and “ghatam.” (Two of the instruments said to inspire the creation of the Hang)
The term handpan was coined by Kyle Cox, who founded American handpan company Pantheon Steel in 2004. Some of the first handpans ever made include the Caisa by Kaisos Steel Drums, the Halo by Pantheon Steel, BElls by BEllArt, and the Spacedrum by Metal Sounds.
Modern Day
Now, almost 25 years since the earliest models of the Hang, there are hundreds of handpan manufacturers crafting instruments all over the world. As each builder uses different materials, manufacturing processes, tuning methods, and layouts, the handpan is progressively developing beyond its humble origins as an experiment. With new instruments come new players developing their own techniques and musical voices, carving a new path for the future of this burgeoning art form.
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