How to choose a handpan?

RAV Pan is a handcrafted handpan drum made of nitrided steel. This hang instrument has a perfect shape, a rich, warm sound, and an engineering idea behind this splendid beauty. Every membrane of a RAV Pan is shaped manually and tuned with hundreds of hammer blows to provide you with a perfect woody and mellow voice with no metallic twang.

Almost all our handpan drums have an air diffuser, the Heartbeats. It redirects the sound waves and stabilizes the frequencies when in the open position. As a result, it provides greater power, clearness and volume to the sound. Extend the Heartbeats from the bottom of the RAV Pan for playing position and make sure it's closed when being stored or moved. Besides, we deliver all our RAV Pan scales in a specially designed hard case to ensure transportation safety. The case is included in the final price.

Let us imagine that you have mastered a RAV Vast and are ready to switch to a more complicated type of steel tongue drum. Or you are a seasoned musician looking for a unique sound. Or you are just so mesmerized by the melodies of RAV Pan drums that are ready to manage to play it no matter what it takes. So, what to begin with and how to choose the right RAV Pan instrument? We are going to help you with that right now!

Scales with a calm sound

D Celtic Minor D3 A3 C4 D4 E4 F4 G4 A4 C5

B Celtic Minor B2 F#3 A3 B3 C#4 D4 E4 F#4 A4

While creating these drums, we were inspired by Celtic culture, particularly Irish ballads and Scottish folk songs. Melodies of these scales have a soothing effect. Thus, they will be suitable for meditation, sound healing and other spiritual practices. Both handpans have just one halftone, so they will be relatively simple to play. B Celtic Minor has a lower and more bass sound. Its sustain is shorter, and because of that, this drum will be better for jamming with a band. D Celtic Minor, in its turn, will make up a good duet with D Celtic RAV Vast, A Integral, E Low Pygmy и G Minor Pentatonic. 

Scales with a cheerful sound

D Major D3 G3 A3 B3 C#4 D4 E4 F#4 A4

D Hijaz D3 A3 C4 D4 D#4 F#4 G4 A4 C5

F Romanian Hijaz F#3 B3 C#4 D4 F4 F#4 G#4 A4 B4 C#5 D5 F5 F#5

D Major is one of the most popular and recognizable tonalities in music history. It sounds light and joyful, like all famous pop songs. There is just one halftone, so there will be no difficulty in switching from a RAV Vast to a RAV Pan. This handpan will not do for meditation because it will be too distracting. However, it will be perfect for creating music with a guitar or a key instrument.

D Hijaz and F Romanian Hijaz – are handpans with Arabian roots. Some authors call Arabian music "whisper of the ages" or "painter's work set off with gold". Sounds beautiful, doesn't it? D Hijaz sounds easy-going and energetic. Though it's a handpan, it is easier to learn to play than Arabian Nights and B Onoleo RAV Vast, the drums are also based on Middle Eastern scales. F Romanian Hijaz is our unique instrument – it has 13 notes! That is why only a professional musician can manage it. The membranes are small, and the sustain is shorter than in other Arabian hang drums, so the pan produces short linked tones that don't overflow one into another. Thus, it is perfect for percussion and fast play.

Scales with a mystical sound

F Pygmy F3 G3 G#3 C4 D#4 F4 G4 G#4 C5 C#3 D#3

E La Sirena E3 G3 B3 C#4 D4 E4 F#4 G4 B4 C#5 D5 E5

Playing the F Pygmy handpan will be like playing a shamanic melody of an African tribe. Mystical and overwhelming, this drum carries the energy of nature. Because of that, F Pygmy will be an excellent accompaniment for meditation and yoga. It will be especially interesting for experienced musicians thanks to peculiar note positioning – C#3 and D#3 are at the bottom of the drum.

E La Sirena unites in itself the calmness of a vast blue ocean and the sound of a fast forest stream. By choosing low-pitched notes, you will be able to create minor melodies that grow into an atmosphere of tranquility and relaxation. But if you will use only high-pitched notes, then the sound will be major and energetic. The E La Sirena drum is like two instruments in one!

To hear how each RAV Pan scales sounds and even try to play them – go to our virtual player page.

Custom RAV Pan

If you did not find a handpan scale to your liking but have a concrete idea of how you want your drum to sound and what notes it should have – we are ready to manufacture it for you! All the details you can find here.