{{Short description|Pitched percussion instrument}} {{Use dmy dates|date=August 2025}} upright|thumb|A musician displaying the use of the handpan in 2020 [[File:Handpan busker - tokyo area - 2018 3 4.webm|thumb|Handpan busker in Tokyo, Japan]] thumb|A handpan from the first production run of Pantheon Steel
'''Handpan''' is a generic term for a group of musical instruments that are classified as a subset of the steelpan. Several handpan makers and brands emerged following growing worldwide interest in the Hang after it was introduced in 2000.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://paniverse.org/history-of-the-pantam-handpan-hang/|title=The History of Pantams|date=27 April 2017|website=paniverse.org|access-date=1 September 2019|archive-date=15 August 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200815100825/http://paniverse.org/history-of-the-pantam-handpan-hang/|url-status=dead}}</ref>
The basic form of a handpan consists of two metal half-shells glued together, a centre tone field surrounded by a circle of at least seven tone fields on the upper side and an opening in the bottom side. Differences between manufacturers include the materials used, the manufacturing processes of the raw forms, the shaping of the tone fields, and the tuning methods.
==History== The term handpan first appeared in 2007 on the website of American steelpan producer Pantheon Steel and was used to describe their development of a new instrument that was launched as an alternative to the Hang,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pantheonsteel.com/default2.asp?action=article&ID=3 |title=Home page |website=pantheonsteel.com |access-date=17 August 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071016054022/http://www.pantheonsteel.com/default2.asp?action=article&ID=3 |archive-date=16 October 2007 }}</ref> whose name had been patented by PANArt Hangbau AG.<ref>David Wessel, Andrew Morrison, Thomas Rossing: ''Sound of the Hang''. Paper for the 155. Meeting of the Acoustical Society of America, Paris 2008, pp. 6257–6262 ([https://webistem.com/acoustics2008/acoustics2008/cd1/data/articles/002762.pdf PDF file; 1,5 MB]).</ref> It later found its way into discussions on the now-defunct online Hang-Music Forum.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hang-music.com/forum/viewforum.php?id=18 |title=Sub-forum "New hand pan development" by the Hang-Music Forum. |access-date=17 August 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071112184619/http://www.hang-music.com/forum/viewforum.php?id=18 |archive-date=12 November 2007 }}</ref> The successor of this forum was founded in 2009 and was called handpan.org,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.handpan.org/forum/ |title=handpan.org/forum/ |website=Handpan.org |access-date=17 August 2013}}</ref> Subsequently, "handpan" became a generic term referring to similar and related instruments.{{Citation needed|date=August 2025}}
There are numerous handpan builders around the world, and the specific instruments vary in material, manufacturing techniques, shape, sound, and quality.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=1h25DQtlFrl0q_8R1irCGl-tsHKs&hl=en_US|title=Handpan Makers Around the World|website=Google.com|access-date=19 April 2021}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://paniverse.org/handpan-builders-around-the-world/|title=HandPans – Brands and Makers|date=16 February 2016|website=Paniverse – World of Handpans|access-date=1 September 2019|archive-date=19 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210419061107/http://paniverse.org/handpan-builders-around-the-world/|url-status=dead}}</ref>
==See also== * Steel tongue drum
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== {{commonscat-inline|Handpan|the handpan}}
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Category:Pitched percussion instruments