Hang (instrument)

Hang
Free Integral Hang (2010)
Percussion instrument
Hornbostel–Sachs classification111.24
(Percussion vessels)
Inventor(s)Felix Rohner, Sabina Schärer
Developed2000

The Hang (German pronunciation: [haŋ];[1] plural form: Hanghang)[2] is a type of musical instrument called a handpan, fitting into the idiophone class and based on the Trinidad & Tobago steelpan instrument. It was created by Felix Rohner and Sabina Schärer in Bern, Switzerland. The name of their company is PANArt Hangbau AG.[3] The Hang is sometimes referred to as a hang drum, but the inventors consider this a misnomer and strongly discourage its use.[4]

The instrument is constructed from two half-shells of deep drawn, nitrided steel sheet[5][6] glued together at the rim leaving the inside hollow and creating the shape of a convex lens. The top ("Ding") side has a center 'note' hammered into it and seven or eight 'tone fields' hammered around the center. The bottom ("Gu") is a plain surface that has a rolled hole in the center with a tuned note that can be created when the rim is struck.

The Hang uses some of the same basic physical principles as a steelpan, but modified in such a way as to act as a Helmholtz resonator.[7] The creation of the Hang was the result of many years of research on the steelpan and other instruments.[8] The inventors of the Hang have continued to refine the shape and materials and have produced several variations over the years.

The name Hang comes from a Bernese German word that has a double-meaning, one of which is hand and the other hillside[9] referring to its convex shape. It is a registered trademark and property of PANArt Hangbau AG.[10]

Growth of a worldwide interest in the Hang created a group of similar instruments that are referred to as handpans, a term coined in 2007 by the American steelpan producer Pantheon Steel.

  1. ^ Duden Aussprachewörterbuch (6 ed.). Mannheim: Bibliographisches Institut & F.A. Brockhaus AG. 2006.
  2. ^ PANArt Hang Bookl008 p. 8
  3. ^ David Wessel, Andrew Morrison, Thomas Rossing: Sound of the Hang. Paper for the 155. Meeting of the Acoustical Society of America, Paris 2008, pp. 6257-6262 (PDF file; 1,5 MB).
  4. ^ "Letter from the Hangbauhaus November 2009". Hangblog.org. Retrieved 19 April 2021.
  5. ^ Felix Rohner, Sabina Schärer: History, Development and Tuning of the Hang. pp. 1f
  6. ^ Lukas Vogelsang: Die Welt ist Blech. Über einen neu gefundenen Klang. In: ensuite – kulturmagazin. Bern, issue no. 4, April 2004, pp. 4-5 (PDF file; 2,8 MB). (German)
  7. ^ Morrison, Andrew; Rossing, Thomas D. (March 2009). "The extraordinary sound of the hang". Physics Today. 62 (3): 66. Bibcode:2009PhT....62c..66M. doi:10.1063/1.3099586.
  8. ^ PANArt Hang Booklet 2008 pp. 4ff
  9. ^ "The Origins of Handpans: The Hang from PANArt | Sylvain Paslier - Handpan Artist". Sylvain Paslier - Handpan Artist. Retrieved 7 November 2018.
  10. ^ WIPO Global Brand Database. International Registration Number 969295