The Best Handpan Scale

Choosing the perfect handpan scale can be a deeply personal and subjective journey. The "best" scale often depends on your musical preferences, playing style, and the emotions you want to evoke. In this post we'll explore some of the most popular handpan scales, their origins, and their unique characteristics.

Understanding Handpan Scales

Before diving into specific scales, it's important to understand what a handpan scale is. A 'handpan scale' refers to the collection of notes on a handpan instrument. These are usually partial expressions of a full musical scale, key, or mode. The lowest sounding note on the instrument is typically referred to as the "Ding" and is placed before a slash in scale descriptions.

5 Popular Handpan Scales

1. Kurd Scale

Origin: Arabic music tradition (Kurd) 

Character: Natural minor scale, versatile with both minor and major chords

Example: D Kurd (D/A Bb C D E F G A)

This scale is a fully diatonic natural minor scale, making it popular for both beginners and advanced players. It offers a range of emotions and allows for the creation of haunting and beautiful melodies. This scale is widely popular in instructional videos and therefore is recommended for beginners. 

Our Generation 7 in D Kurd

2. Celtic

Origin: Traditional Celtic music, popularized by Pantheon Steel and Echo Sound Sculpture 

Character: Minor tonality, captivating and intuitive for beginners 

Example: D Celtic (D/A C D E F G A C)

The Celtic scale is one of the most common handpan scales available today. It has a minor tonality and reflects its origin from the historic Celtic scale, which is in Dorian mode. By excluding the 6th scale degree, it creates a captivating minor feel that's intuitive for beginners.

3. Pygmy Scale

Origin: PanArt 

Character: Pentatonic scale, intriguing and magical 

Example: F Pygmy (F/G Ab C Eb F G Ab C)

The Pygmy scale was one of the first handpan scales built and remains one of the most popular. It's a form of Dorian pentatonic scale, consisting of five different notes instead of the usual seven. This unique composition places it between a major and a minor scale, creating an intriguing and magical sound.

Our Generation 7 in F Pygmy 432Hz

4. Hijaz Scale

Origin: Middle Eastern music

 Character: Arabic and Middle Eastern feel, exciting and driving 

Example: E Romanian Hijaz (E/A B C D# E F# G B)

Handpans with Hijaz in their scale name have roots in the Arabic Maqamat. The Romanian Hijaz, which is the most popular version for handpans, is actually an E Harmonic minor scale that incorporates the Hijaz maqam in B. This scale has a dreamlike quality, drawing listeners in like a mirage in the desert.

Our Generation 7 in F# Minor Hijaz 

5. Amara Scale

Origin: Originated as a scale name from the handpan community

Character: Similar to Celtic, minor tonality 

Example: D Amara (D/A C D E F G A C)

The Amara scale is often used interchangeably with the Celtic scale. It offers a minor tonality that's captivating for listeners and intuitive for beginner players.

Our Generation 7 in D Amara

Conclusion

The "best" handpan scale ultimately depends on your personal preferences and the type of music you want to create. However, certain scales lend themselves well to particular moods or genres:

1. For meditative or relaxing music: The Kurd scale offers a soothing minor tonality that's perfect for creating calm, introspective pieces.
2. For exotic or Middle Eastern-inspired music: The Hijaz scale provides that distinctive Arabic flavor, perfect for creating music with an enchanting, almost hypnotic quality.
3. For Celtic or folk-inspired music: The Celtic/Amara scale, with its roots in traditional Celtic music, is ideal for creating pieces with a folk-like quality.
4. For mysterious or ethereal sounds: The Pygmy scale, with its unique pentatonic structure, can create intriguing and magical-sounding compositions.

Remember, the journey of discovering your ideal handpan scale is part of the joy of playing this unique instrument. If you are thinking of purchasing a handpan, it is best to listen to videos of each scale to see which one you resonate with most. And if you are planning to use your handpan for performance, you can consider the type of music you will be playing when choosing your scale. If you're a beginner, we would recommend the D Kurd scale just as it is most common in tutorial videos.

At the end of the day, these are all incredible scales that allow for a great range of musical expression. Hard to go wrong! 

If you have any questions about which scale to choose please contact us. Thanks for reading!