Frequently Asked Questions - Handpan

1. What is the difference between handpan and Kongling drum? The source of handpan源？

Many people often think that Handpan is the Steel Tongue Drum, the steel tongue drum. In fact, these are two completely different percussion instruments. It is different from the Hollow Drum played with drumsticks. The handpan is usually placed on the player's legs or on the handpan stand with bare hands. Of course, the performance depends on the player's habits and skills. Some people play the ethereal drum with bare hands and put it on their legs. It's just that it is difficult for ordinary beginners to play a good tone in this way, so they will make good use of the ethereal built-in Play on a tabletop or any flat surface with the padded feet and use the dedicated sticks to get the best sound from ethereal drums用專用鼓槌，以發揮空靈鼓的最佳音色！

Because the structure and sounding principle of the handpan are different from the empty drum, the handpan can produce softer, ethereal and changeable timbres with the change of the player's skills, whether it is a slow song or a fast song, it is also more suitable for free creation and solo performance. It is much more difficult to get started with Konglinggu, but it also has more infinite creative possibilities.無窮的創作可能性。

SwissPAN ArtThe company was founded by Felix Rohner and Sabina Schärer in 2000 and presented at the Frankfurt Musical Instruments Exhibition in 2001. They named it and registered it as Hang and took the sound artwork as its design concept. Its unique, mysterious and beautiful sound has attracted a lot of interest. but due to批愛好者。但由於PAN ArtThe undisclosed method and the complex and time-consuming production process lead to short supply應求。

2007 USAPantheon SteelAsk an experimental question on its official website, which says Interested in the HANG PAN or HAND PAN. The purpose is to understand the interest and demand of the global opponents and consider whether they want to produce. In 2009, they produced the first instrument similar to Hang. Halo used Handpan to describe the newly developed instrument to distinguish it from Hang. The company then supported and helped many Handpan producers to promote the development of handpan around the world.推動了手碟在全世界的發展。

2. The principle and material of the hand disc should choose a few tones的？

Handpan is a self-sounding body instrument composed of two deep-drawn hemispherical steel plates. The two steel plates are bonded from the edge to form a hollow resonant cavity.在鋼鼓（steelpan）The technology has added Helmholtz resonance. There is a raised part in the center of the upper hemisphere called Ding, surrounded by 7-10 oval-shaped small pits with a central depression like a steel drum called Note, which can produce different pitches and are controlled by Arrange from bottom to top in a Z-shape from low to high. Players can alternately play with left and right hands in ascending or descending order. Each range has a fundamental root note, a harmonic long axis and a fifth harmonic short oval axis, which can be matched with the performance skills according to the needs of the timbre. Different to obtain ever-changing timbres such as bright, dull, short, long, etc.技巧不同的獲得明亮、沉悶、短促、悠長等千變萬化的音色。

The lower hemisphere has a smooth surface, and the central part has an involuted opening at the edge called Gu. It can be played with the palm to excite the airflow in the cavity and produce Helmholtz resonance. It produces a sound similar to the Indian clay pot drum Ghatam or Udu. Play the bottom with your fingers. The edge of the opening can make a sound similar to the chiming of a small bell能發出類似小鍾叩鳴的聲音。

At present, there are roughly two main materials for the hand plate: carbon steel and stainless steel. Others are also rare, and the lower hemisphere is made of different materials such as wood.異材質。

Hand discs made of carbon steel basically have a thicker and fuller sound, but the sustain is shorter. They are more likely to rust when exposed to sweat and require frequent maintenance. Therefore, in recent years, most of them have been added with nitriding process to make the carbon steel material better anti-corrosion. Rust performance and good nitriding treatment will allow carbon steel materials to obtain longer and better sustain effects, so they are more popular with the public效果，因此更受大眾喜愛。

Stainless steel sustains longer than carbon steel and is relatively less prone to rust. The maintenance period can be longer or even no special care is required. Under normal use, the sound can be selected according to personal preference. The current international mainstream is gradually developing from carbon steel to stainless steel. Beginners are also recommended to choose Stainless steel is easier to play good sustain and get a greater sense of satisfaction音，獲得較大的滿足感！

Although the mainstream of the market is changing, there are still a group of loyal players who love carbon steel materials. They love the good sustain and full-bodied timbre of carbon steel materials. This is purely a personal hobby and an intuitive feeling, just like food preferences. Those who choose these two materials have doubts, are curious, or want to find out. When they come across a musical instrument and listen to it, they will make a decision. Everyone has different feelings and preferences. Believe in your ears and first instinct, it will often be your favorite.往往就會是您的最愛！

In recent years, the production technology of hand discs has advanced by leaps and bounds. Multi-tone hand discs have become the mainstream pursued by hand disc enthusiasts. From the early 8-tone 9-tone to the current 10-tone mainstream, even super-high-priced hand discs with more than 20 tones have a specific market love. It is generally recommended for beginners to learn 9 to 10 tones, followed by 11 tones, because there are many corresponding learning materials, videos and teachers that can be found. Hand discs with more than 13 tones will also be equipped with sound zones in the lower hemisphere. Beginners will place them on their legs. The difficulty will increase greatly when playing on the table or on the hand disc stand, so it is not recommended for ordinary beginners to get started. Of course, you have the independent choice to enjoy the fun of the challenge.，您擁有享受挑戰樂趣的自主選擇性！

3. What is nitriding treatment in the production process of hand dishes?理？

1. Material selection
Stable material is the key to the quality of the hand plate. Steel is generally produced in batches, calculated in tons and furnaces. There must be slight differences in each batch. This is unavoidable. The hand plate manufacturer must do everything possible to ensure stable quality.確保品質穩定。

2. Deep drawing hydraulic machining or hammer forming Sinking into hemispherical shape成半球形
There are many ways to pre-form a hemispherical shape. Each has its own advantages and advantages. It depends on the choice of individual manufacturers. The forming method is also related to the material, the subsequent process and the preference of the tuner. The result of a series of cross-selections will finally determine a The quality of a hand plate is good or bad手碟品質好壞。

3. Heat treatment + nitriding
In recent years, the mainstream of the process generally performs heat treatment + nitriding before the initial adjustment. The nitriding process itself must be heated. There are also cases where this process is performed after the initial adjustment. There is no absolute right or wrong in the choice of the manufacturer. The final quality is important質才是重要的。

4. Note Plan and Dimple & Tone Fields Forminging）
The sound area includes the dome or the dimple (Dimple) is formed at this time. Generally, each sound area is positioned and shaped, and the extrapolation of the upper half of the non-audio area is also included. At the same time, the opening and inner curvature of the lower half are included.曲成形。

5. Initial adjustment and tempering heat treatment
After the forming is completed, use hammer to do simple preliminary tuning for each sound area, and then perform tempering heat treatment to release the stress of the metal after deformation to consolidate the stress around each sound area, and then perform tuning for each sound area音區做調音。

6. Tuning
The process of tuning with various mallets and tuners. Generally, commercially available mallets cannot satisfy hand-pan tuners. Most hand-pan tuners have their own unique tools and tuning methods.音工法。

7. Temper again and tune again until the tone is stable
This process may not be chosen by every master. It depends on the material master’s experience and judgment needs. The purpose of this process is only to seek the stability of the tone. The choice or not will determine the final quality.定最終的品質。

8. The final fine-tuning of the overall fine-tuned tone and temperament is entirely dependent on the individual situation and whether it can be adjusted.整而定）
After the tuning is completed, it will usually be placed in the natural temperature for a period of time and the final inspection will be done before the final shipment. Metal has its natural elasticity and ductility. After stabilization, there may still be slight timbres and tone shifts before leaving the factory. After the hand plate has been joined up and down to become a finished product, necessary fine adjustments will still be made according to the master's judgment and inspection. This is entirely based on the master's experience and judgment.照師傅的經驗判斷而定。

9. Calibration and protection before leaving the factory, oiling, spot removal, micro-grinding and scratch removal去刮痕）
The final inspection for appearance and tone is usually combined with the previous step, followed by necessary oiling and anti-rust protection before packaging, and then packaging後包裝。

10. Packaging A key procedure to keep in good condition to your hands序）
We all know that the hand disc is made of metal, and the tuning is done by hammering, so any collision may cause the hand disc to go out of tune and cause damage. Good hand disc manufacturers can say that there is no limit to the protection work of the shipping package. Anything that can protect a 4 Packaging protection with a weight of ~5 kg may be used. The packaging method is also changing with each passing day. The main reason is to reduce the overall weight to reduce the cost of shipping. The packaging is generally about 7-10 kg.一般大約在7~10公斤左右。

11. It takes about 9~20 days for the shipment to be shipped out of the customs and taxed, shipped into the customs and paid for duty, and then shipped to the government再運送到府）
Currently, there is no independent manufacturer of hand discs in Taiwan, so they all rely on imports. It takes a lot of steps to transport them from the place of origin to your hands. Ask any senior players who have purchased hand discs from abroad to understand the process and cost. How much of this we take care of for you all the way to save you the hassle，省去您的麻煩。

－Nitriding treatment－
Nitriding, also known as nitriding, is a chemical heat treatment process that diffuses nitrogen into the metal surface to form a hardened surface, which can improve sound quality, reduce mutual interference between sound zones, reduce cavity noise and metal steel hard percussion sounds, and enhance sound purity. The sound is more concentrated and the firmness of pitch is enhanced，增強音準的牢固度。
Our hand plate is preset to the classic D minor and Kurd scale distribution. The latest nitriding technology is used to place the hand plate embryo body in a closed high-temperature furnace. The nitrogen decomposes and reacts to produce a large number of active nitrogen atoms. The steel surface of the hand plate is fully absorbed and nitriding is effective. Improve the hardness and wear resistance to make the sound of the hand dish more ethereal, maintain the pitch for a long time, scientific thickness design and make the hand dish more sensitive更加靈敏。

4. Which one would beginners recommend to buy?？

According to the current international development trend, it is generally recommended that we choose AS TEMAN hand discs with more than 10 tones, because this international brand from Shenzhen has long been exported to Europe, America and other big countries. It is composed of a team of experienced hand disc masters. And it is stable and widely favored by European and American hand players. As long as you spend a normal budget, you can enjoy the same quality as European and American hand players. I highly recommend it to everyone.的手碟，非常推薦給大家。

Among the many styles, budget considerations will recommend薦Ice Age Ice Age， If you want to have a better sound, you can choose the Lurubao Gold Edge professional model or the AS Universe series.Black Hole，The choice for the pursuit of rich and pure sound擇Polaris。Hope polyphonic scale is optionalXingyao Starlight11 sound、South Pole Star Octans13 tone。otherwise specialPerformer Performer17 tone，It is a special performance-type custom-made hand plate with different tones on both sides. The front side is the classic D minor and Kurd scale distribution. The back side is a rare 8-tone scale distribution based on D major.分佈。

5. Playing styles and uses of handpan？

Handpan is a unique branch of music in the 21st century. From one person to meditate, to improvise in an ensemble of two or three people, to small-scale salon performances, to large-scale concerts, and even to movie soundtracks. The place is that the street, as a new musical instrument, has greatly enriched street art. In some European countries, we often see artists playing hand discs in various forms and interacting with passers-by.種形式演奏手碟，與路人互動。

Professional performers can control two, three or even more handpans at the same time to play different styles of music. They can cooperate with various instruments and human voices to create unusual music. They can use innovative techniques to dig out new timbres of Handpan. And other arts are combined to form a new art form. Handpan is often used as music therapy and litigation bowl tuning fork to cure mental illness or relax nerves. It is also used in Buddhist music, meditation, meditation and other fields.經。也被用於佛教音樂、禪修、冥想、等領域。

6. Is there any teaching on how to play the handpan?嗎？

The hand plate is placed cross-legged, and the sound can be made by tapping the palm of the hand or tapping with the fingers. It can also be placed on a stand. Unlike the Kongling drum, the sound of hitting with a mallet is also softer and warmer than the Kongling drum. The sound of the hand plate may be similar depending on the technique. Harp bells or tuned steel drums Each sound field has several overtone resonance areas around the fundamental sound周圍有幾個泛音共鳴區。

For relevant teaching, please refer to our online course. The first free open follow-up course is provided to good friends who buy our hand discs.朋友：AS TEMAN hand disc teaching link

Precautions for use and how to maintain the hand dish？

The handpan is most afraid of improper collisions that may lead to out of tune. Please be careful when using the handpan. It looks hard, but its thickness is also around 0.8mm-1.2mm. When playing, you need to control the strength. If you use too much force or abnormal force on the drum surface, it may also be possible. If the sound is out of tune, if you often go out with a hand disc, it is recommended to purchase our，建議加購我們的Patented Transparent Protective Backpack，will have a better protective effect。

If the sound is out of tune due to human factors, it needs to be tuned and repaired. If it is not serious, we will provide free tuning service within one year. You need to pay the round-trip shipping fee from NT$3500~8000. It depends on whether the tariff is too serious or exceeds One year will be quoted separately according to the damage situation. Compared with European and American hand discs, the tuning + shipping cost is more than NT$25,000 on average. It is a very affordable hand disc because it is made of metal. Please try to avoid moisture and sweat. For maintenance methods, please refer to the following suggestions保養方式可參考以下建議：