It's a Handpan Thing: Things Only a Handpan Does

The handpan may look deceptively simple: two metal shells, carefully tuned notes, and no strings, keys, or valves. But acoustically and mechanically, it is an unusually complex instrument.

Some of its characteristics are so specific to its construction that they can surprise even experienced musicians. From the way it behaves in a recording studio to the way temperature affects its tuning, here are some things that are very much a handpan thing.

Recording a Handpan Can Be Surprisingly Tricky

The handpan can be a challenging instrument to mic, especially for someone who has little experience recording it. Finding the right microphone may require testing different models and positions.

Depending on the microphone, the sound of the player's fingers hitting the metal can become surprisingly prominent and compete with the musical sound of the instrument. Mechanical vibration can also become an issue, particularly with contact microphones. Because the entire shell vibrates, attaching a microphone directly to the instrument can require careful experimentation to avoid capturing unwanted mechanical noise or an unbalanced representation of the instrument.

Microphone placement matters just as much. Moving a microphone only a small distance or changing its angle can significantly alter the balance between the attack, resonance, sustain, and lower frequencies.

Fortunately, many of these details can be addressed during production and mixing. Still, choosing the right microphone and finding an appropriate position is an important part of recording a handpan well.

The Whole Shell is Part of the Sound

One particularly interesting characteristic of the handpan is that there isn't a single, obvious place from which its sound emerges.

The tuned areas, the surrounding metal, the rim, and the two shells all participate in the instrument's acoustic behavior. When a note is played, energy is distributed through the metal rather than remaining confined to one small area.

This is one reason why microphone placement can have such a dramatic effect. A microphone positioned above the instrument, closer to its center, or farther toward the edge can capture noticeably different aspects of the same performance.

In other words, there is no equivalent of simply pointing a microphone at a sound hole and assuming you are hearing the instrument's "main" sound. With a handpan, the instrument itself is part of the sound-radiating system.

One Note Can Make Another One Vibrate

Handpans are designed so that their notes interact acoustically with one another. Playing one note can sometimes cause another note to vibrate or produce a faint sympathetic response.

This happens because the notes and the shell are mechanically connected, and their frequencies can interact with the vibrations produced by neighboring tone fields.

It is one of the reasons a handpan can sound surprisingly rich and spacious even when only one note is being played at a time. What we hear is not always just the isolated sound of the note being struck; the rest of the instrument can subtly participate in the resonance.

This characteristic can also affect recording. The microphone may capture not only the note being played, but also subtle sympathetic resonances from other parts of the instrument.

Each Note is Actually Several Frequencies at Once

One of the most unique characteristics of the handpan is that each note is intentionally tuned to contain multiple frequencies.

A properly tuned note typically contains at least three carefully related frequencies, while some instruments use four or even five tuned partials. These frequencies are not accidental byproducts of the metal vibrating. They are deliberately shaped by the maker.

The relationship between these frequencies — and how precisely they are aligned — is one of the main factors responsible for the instrument's timbre.

This is also a major part of what gives the handpan its characteristic blend of fundamental tone, resonance, and sustained harmonic color. Rather than producing a simple pitch, each note contains a carefully engineered acoustic structure.

The Metal Can Change Color Without Being Damaged

Handpans can develop subtle changes in the appearance of their metal surfaces over time. This can happen with both stainless steel and nitrided carbon steel.

Small variations in color or tonal appearance may appear in seemingly random areas of the instrument. These changes do not necessarily indicate wear, damage, or a problem with the handpan.

Importantly, we are not talking about scratches, dents, abrasions, or other physical damage to the surface. We are referring specifically to subtle changes in the metal's coloration or appearance while the shape and sound of the instrument remain unaffected.

In many cases, this is simply part of the way the metal's surface changes over time and with exposure to its environment.

Heat is More Important Than You Might Think

The fact that a handpan is made from stainless steel or carbon steel does not make it immune to the effects of heat and water.

In fact, temperature can have a noticeable effect on how the instrument behaves. You may even notice changes in its sound when playing in a very hot environment.

This makes sense when we consider how a handpan is made. Heat is an important part of the manufacturing and tuning process. Makers use controlled heating to alter the mechanical stresses introduced during the building process

Exposing a tuned handpan to excessive heat can temporarily alter the physical properties of the metal and, in extreme cases, cause permanent changes. Playing the instrument while it is very hot can therefore be particularly problematic: striking the tone fields while the metal is significantly heated may contribute to changes in tuning and stability.

For this reason, unlike other instruments, the environment in which a handpan is played and stored matters considerably. Leaving or playing a handpan in direct sunlight, inside a hot car, or in another excessively hot environment is not a good idea. 

The Curious Case of an Aging Handpan 

There is an interesting anecdotal observation within the handpan community: some players feel that their instrument changes and even sounds better several years after it was made and first played.

There are several possible explanations for perceived changes in sound over time. One hypothesis involves the adhesive or bonding system used to join the two shells. The type, amount, and application of adhesive can influence aspects of the mechanical behavior of the assembled instrument, so changes in those materials over a long period could theoretically contribute to subtle differences in resonance.

It's worth noting that a handpan should generally remain stable over time. Significant changes in tuning or tone (for better or worse) are not a normal consequence of age or regular playing. If you notice a significant change in your instrument's sound, contact the maker to have it evaluated rather than assuming that it is simply part of the aging process. 

Handpans Still Don't Have a Universal Notation System

This isn't an acoustic characteristic, but it is another unusual consequence of the handpan's relatively young history.

Compared with instruments such as the piano, violin, or guitar, the handpan is a very recent musical instrument. Standardized teaching methods are still being developed, and different teachers may use different approaches, terminology, and techniques.

The same is true for musical notation. There is no single universally accepted system for writing handpan music comparable to the standard notation traditionally used across many established instruments.

Some players and teachers use conventional staff notation, while others use numbers, note names, diagrams, rhythmic symbols, or systems they have developed themselves.

As the handpan community continues to grow, these approaches may become more standardized — but for now, there is still considerable diversity in how the instrument is taught and documented.

The Handpan is a Small Instrument With a Very Large Acoustic Personality

Perhaps the most fascinating thing about the handpan is how much complexity is contained in such a relatively simple-looking object.

Its sound depends on the interaction between carefully tuned frequencies, vibrating metal, sympathetic resonance, shell construction, temperature, and even microphone placement. Small changes in any of these factors can influence what we hear.

That is part of what makes the handpan so fascinating — and also why two instruments that look almost identical can have remarkably different voices.

The more you understand what is happening beneath the surface, the easier it becomes to appreciate just how much engineering, acoustic knowledge, and craftsmanship goes into creating that deceptively simple sound.