Handpan

The handpan is a relatively new musical instrument which was inspired by the steel drum and other various instruments of the world, such as the Udu, or "pottery drum". The term handpan was first coined by Kyle Cox, one of the makers of this new type of instrument. The term itself is a variation on the true name of the steel drum, steelpan. The handpan's name was born of the fact that one of its major departures from traditional steelpan is the use of the hands rather than mallets.

The original handpan is the Hang, invented in Switzerland by Felix and Sabina Rohner around the year 2000. It should be noted that Felix and Sabina prefer to avoid classifying the Hang as an instrument, drum, or even handpan, and this page does not attempt to challenge this.

A forum exists, where handpan and related topics are discussed, called www.handpan.org. Template:Thanks :)