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What is a handpan

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Originally named Hang (plural form: Hanghang), the handpan was first created in 2000 in Bern, Switzerland.In 2001 after undergoing a series of modifications and enhancements, the instrument was launched at Frankfurt Music Fair and then distributed all over the world. The hang is a percussion instrument made of a metal alloy, trademarked by its creators as «Pang» or «Pang-Bleach», a Nitrogen-enriched metal foil. 

 

In 2001 after undergoing a series of modifications and enhancements, the instrument was launched at Frankfurt Music Fair and then distributed all over the world. The hang is a percussion instrument made of a metal alloy, trademarked by its creators as «Pang» or «Pang-Bleach», a Nitrogen-enriched metal foil. 

In the local dialect from Bern «Hang» means «hand» and the instrument design was inspired by a number of other instruments such as the Steel Drum, the Ghatam, the Udu, the Gong and the Tabla. The Hang has long been one of the most sought after instruments in the world. At that point, some of the leading percussion manufacturers in the world decided to take the challenge by designing a similar product in order to meet the needs of such an unexpectedly large number of players-to-be. The new instruments would then be named differently according to the country it was made in: Halo, in the US, Bells in Spain, Space Drum in France, Bali in Indonesia, Disco Armonico was the Italian name, Innersound and Caisa the German names, while SPB was trademarked in Russia. 
The handpan has a circular shape, is made up of two shells placed one above the other with opposite "bellies", has a weight of about 5 kg, a diameter of 53 cm and a height of 25 cm. Today there are also instruments of greater weight, diameter and height.
Our company Lombardo Handpan has been working for years in the sector for the evolution and popularisation of the instrument. Today the handpan is widespread everywhere and more and more people are fascinated by its very penetrating and dreamlike sound.

Lombardo Handpan

First and only handpan handmade by a professional musician Maestro Loris Lombardo,
author of the first handpan manual in the world

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