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.[1]
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 the 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,[2] whose name had been patented by PANArt Hangbau AG.[3] It later found its way into discussions on the now-defunct online Hang-Music Forum.[4] The successor of this forum was founded in 2009 and was called handpan.org,[5] Subsequently, "handpan" became a generic term referring to similar and related instruments.[citation needed]
There are numerous handpan builders around the world, and the specific instruments vary in material, manufacturing techniques, shape, sound, and quality.[6][7]
PANart, the creators of the Hang, have launched extensive legal proceedings against many handpan builders, deeming their instruments a violation of the company's copyright. In 2025, the Federal Supreme Court of Switzerland confirmed the preliminary judgment of the Commercial Court of the Canton of Bern that the Hang was subject to copyright as a work of applied art,[8] and in 2026, the commercial court found that 210 of the 260 types of handpan submitted to the court violated PANart's copyright. Only models with significant differences, such as instruments whose dome on the top was replaced by a concave tone field, or with triangular rather than circular sound fields, were found not to be in violation.[9]
See also
References
- ↑ "The History of Pantams". paniverse.org. 27 April 2017. Archived from the original on 15 August 2020. Retrieved 1 September 2019.
- ↑ "Home page". pantheonsteel.com. Archived from the original on 16 October 2007. Retrieved 17 August 2013.
- ↑ 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 (PDF file; 1,5 MB).
- ↑ "Sub-forum "New hand pan development" by the Hang-Music Forum". Archived from the original on 12 November 2007. Retrieved 17 August 2013.
- ↑ "handpan.org/forum/". Handpan.org. Retrieved 17 August 2013.
- ↑ "Handpan Makers Around the World". Google.com. Retrieved 19 April 2021.
- ↑ "HandPans – Brands and Makers". Paniverse – World of Handpans. 16 February 2016. Archived from the original on 19 April 2021. Retrieved 1 September 2019.
- ↑ Decision 4A_466/2024 of 18. Februar 2025
- ↑ "Berner Urheberrechtsstreit: 80 Prozent der Handpans verletzen das Recht am Hang" [Bernese copyright dispute: 80 percent of handpans infringe the right to the slope.]. Der Bund (in German). 3 July 2026. Retrieved 3 July 2026.
External links
Media related to the handpan at Wikimedia Commons
