Handpan scales, explained
A handpan is not chromatic. Its notes are hammered into the steel once, and they never change. Choosing a scale is therefore the single most important decision when you buy or build one — it decides everything you will ever be able to play on that instrument.
Every handpan is built around a ding, the dome in the centre, which is the lowest and deepest note. Around it sit the tone fields, arranged low to high and alternating left and right so that both hands reach the whole range. Many instruments carry a few extra notes on the bottom shell, around the sound hole. Makers write those in brackets, and count them separately: a 9 + 3 instrument has nine notes on top and three underneath.
Scale names come from the handpan community rather than from music theory, and they are not standardised. The same set of intervals may be sold under two names by two makers, and the same name may cover slightly different note sets. The builder above lists 56 distinct shapes taken from published maker catalogues, and it will tell you which one your own combination matches.
The classic handpan scales
Each scale below is shown at the root note it is most commonly sold in. The ding comes first, then the tone fields from low to high. Every one of them can be transposed to any other root in the builder above.
- D Kurd 9 notes
D3 / A3 Bb3 C4 D4 E4 F4 G4 A4Full natural minor. The most widely sold scale, and the most versatile: enough notes for bass lines under a melody. The name comes from the maqam tradition of Arabic music.
- D Celtic Minor 9 notes
D3 / A3 C4 D4 E4 F4 G4 A4 C5The same minor family with the sixth degree left out. Fewer notes, fewer wrong answers — the easiest scale to improvise on for a first instrument.
- E Amara 10 notes
E3 / B3 D4 E4 F#4 G4 A4 B4 D5 E5Celtic Minor taken further up the range. Amara and Celtic Minor are two names for the same shape; makers use one or the other depending on the root note.
- D Integral 9 notes
D3 / A3 Bb3 C4 D4 E4 F4 A4 C5Natural minor without the fourth degree, a variation popularised by PanArt on the Integral Hang. Removing that note opens up the harmony.
- F Equinox 10 notes
F3 / Ab3 C4 C#4 Eb4 F4 G4 Ab4 C5 Eb5A minor variation named by Pantheon Steel. Spacious and unresolved — a favourite for sound healing and slow playing.
- A Pygmy 9 notes
A2 / E3 A3 B3 C4 E4 G4 A4 B4Pentatonic: five notes per octave instead of seven. Every combination sounds consonant, which makes it the most forgiving scale of all.
- F Low Pygmy 10 notes
F3 / G3 Ab3 C4 Eb4 F4 G4 Ab4 C5 Eb5The Pygmy shape built on a deeper root. Same forgiving character, with far more weight underneath.
- A Hijaz 9 notes
A2 / E3 G3 A3 Bb3 C#4 D4 E4 G4The augmented second between the second and third degree gives it an unmistakable Middle Eastern colour. Dramatic, and strongly flavoured.
- E SaByeD 9 notes
E3 / A3 B3 C#4 Eb4 E4 F#4 Ab4 B4A major variation named by Ezahn at Echo Sound Sculpture. Bright and open, the counterweight to the minor scales that dominate the instrument.
- E Aeolian 9 notes
E3 / A3 B3 C4 D4 E4 F4 G4 A4A full natural minor laid out from the fourth degree. Closely related to Kurd — makers often use the two names interchangeably.
- D AkeBono 9 notes
D3 / A3 Bb3 D4 E4 F4 A4 Bb4 D5A pentatonic scale from traditional Japanese music. It has no strong tonic, so melodies float rather than resolve.
- E La Sirena 10 notes
E3 / G3 B3 C#4 D4 E4 F#4 G4 B4 E5A Dorian variation, another Pantheon Steel name. Neither clearly happy nor sad — it sits between the two.
- D Mystic 10 notes
D3 / A3 Bb3 D4 E4 F4 A4 C5 D5 E5Wide intervals and gaps in the middle of the range, which gives it an open, suspended character.
Which scale should you choose?
For a first instrument, D Kurd or D Celtic Minor. Both are minor, both are forgiving, and both have far more tutorials and play-along material behind them than anything else. Kurd gives you two more notes to work with; Celtic Minor gives you fewer ways to sound wrong.
If you want everything to sound consonant, take a Pygmy. With five notes per octave instead of seven, there is almost no combination that clashes — which is why it is the scale people reach for when they improvise without thinking.
If it is your second instrument, choose contrast rather than comfort. Next to a D Kurd, a Hijaz, a Pygmy or a major scale opens a genuinely different palette. A second minor scale in a neighbouring key will mostly duplicate what you already own.
Be careful with strongly flavoured scales. Hijaz and AkeBono are beautiful and instantly recognisable, and that is exactly the risk: their character is so marked that everything you play on them tends to sound like the scale rather than like you.
One practical point that is easy to miss: a lower root means a bigger, heavier and more expensive instrument, and deeper notes take more space on the shell, so a low-ding handpan usually carries fewer of them.
440 Hz or 432 Hz?
440 Hz is the international standard, and the pitch every other instrument you might play with is tuned to. 432 Hz is a lower reference some players prefer for solo playing and sound work. The difference is about a third of a semitone — audible side by side, invisible when playing alone.
The practical consequence matters more than the debate: a handpan tuned to 432 Hz will not sit in tune with a guitar, a piano or another handpan tuned to 440 Hz. If you expect to play with other people, 440 Hz is the safe choice. The builder above works in both.
Frequently asked questions
What is a handpan scale?
The fixed set of notes hammered into a handpan: one ding in the centre plus the tone fields around it, sometimes with extra notes on the bottom shell. Unlike a piano or a guitar, the instrument can only ever play those notes.
How many notes does a handpan have?
Most instruments have 8 to 10 notes on the top shell, ding included. Extended models reach 12 or 14 on top, plus anything from 2 to 8 underneath. More notes means more possibilities, but also less space per tone field, which makes tuning and playing more demanding.
Which handpan scale is best for beginners?
D Kurd and D Celtic Minor are the two safe answers. They are the most produced, the most documented, and neither is a choice you are likely to regret.
What is the difference between Kurd and Celtic Minor?
Kurd is a complete natural minor scale. Celtic Minor is the same scale with the sixth degree removed, which leaves a gap and makes the remaining notes blend more easily. Kurd is more complete, Celtic Minor more forgiving.
Are Amara and Celtic Minor the same scale?
Yes, in terms of intervals. The two names are used interchangeably, with the choice usually depending on the root note the maker builds in.
What are bottom notes for?
They add bass below the ding or extra high notes, without crowding the playing surface. They are struck less often and sound more muted than the top shell, which suits them to drones and slow bass lines under a melody.
Can a handpan be retuned to another scale?
Not to a different scale. A tuner can correct a note that has drifted, and in some cases move a note by a semitone, but the layout is decided when the instrument is made. This is why the choice of scale deserves the time it takes.
Scale data compiled from published maker and retailer catalogues. Names and note sets vary between makers; where two names describe the same set of intervals, both are shown.