Analysis and Synthesis of the Handpan Sound

Handpan is a term used to describe a group of struck metallic musical instruments, which are similar in shape and sound to the Hang, developed by PANArt in January 2000. The Hang is a hand played instrument, which consists of two hemispherical shells of nitrided steel that are fastened together along the circumference. The instrument usually contains a minimum of eight eliptical notes and is played by delivering rapid and gentle strikes to the note areas. Previous studies of the Hang have typically discussed the modes of vibration and sound radiation field when note areas are excited by sinusoidal, hammer, and finger force. It was noted that the manner in which the Hang is played has considerable influence on the spectral content, decay time, and amplitude envelope features produced. This report details the design and implementation of an experimental procedure to record, analyse and synthesise the handpan sound. Four instruments from three different makers were used for the analysis, which gives insight into common handpan sound features, the influence of strike position on spectral content, and the origin of beating phenomena in the signature handpan sound. Subjective listening tests were conducted aiming to estimate the minimum number of vibrational modes required to synthesise the handpan sound.