Mana Hang

Pantheon Steel in the US have been creating his own musical instrument, info below is from his email launch.

The developmental phase of the HALO has now become the production phase.  For the past 20 months we have been working to contribute to this art from while respecting the originators by not making a copy of the original, but rather introducing our own unique process, material and sound.  We feel we have stayed true to that in producing an instrument with a soulful and rich timbre of its own that is capable of creating a powerful sonic experience.

The 1st generation HALO is a bit larger than the Hang and is lower in pitch.  Where the low D3 (Ding) resides on a Hang is a low C3 on the HALO and the first three notes in the tonal circle (F,G,G#) are lower than the lowest tonal circle pitch (A) on a Hang.  Our Ake Bono scale is C – F,G,G#,C,C#,f,g,g#.  The warmth and projection of our lower register creates a new tonal experience in HandPan playing.  The helmholtz (internal) resonance of the HALO is being used in a new way that not only can be activated when the top dome is played, but also while the low F pitch of the tonal circle is played (depending on leg placement and/or tilt angle).  You will also notice that when leg placement is correct it creates a ‘pedal pitch’ of C2 which remains active while entire HALO is played.  If you listen closely enough you can hear this in the upcoming audio as well as the video.  We are excited about the nearly infinite possibilities our manufacturing process provides.  The 1st generation HALO might possibly be the lowest pitched production HandPan in existence. Nothing is better than the real experience, but quality sound reproduction is the next best thing.  Listen over and over to the many nuances as the HALO comes to life.

luis eguiguren from Cantabria, Spain(BellArt) is making a interesting musical instrument, click on the link below to see his website

http://www.bellart.es/

and he is a video clip, click on link below

Bells

On May the 15th I went to choose my Hang at the Panart workshop in Bern, Switzerland. I stayed for 3 days and met Felix and Sabina, I even helped to make some parts of the Hang whilst I was there. It was a difficult time as there was so many Hang to choose from.

Its not easy to get a Hang, I first heard about the Hang when I was working in a Musical Instrument shop, someone randomly came in and asked if I had heard of a UFO shaped drum?!? After some web searching I discovered that this instrument was in fact very real and called the Hang.

To get a Hang you have to write a letter to the makers (Felix and Sabina), so in late 2006 I wrote a letter to them asking if I could buy one.  I did not get a reply…

I had read on the Hang forum that it does take them a long time to reply to everyone, so I waited patiently.

Then one day, walking back to my house I was thinking to myself if today would be the day that I got a letter from them, I open my front door, I look down… and there it is.  A letter from Switzerland……

After waiting for over 1 Year, I have got my letter of invitation to go to Bern to collect it. 

Its strange really, the best bit was waiting to get the letter, now I KNOW that I am getting a Hang its just seems normal!!

I went to Bern in Switzerland in May 2008 to get my Hang!!

The Hang is a musical instrument that was created in 2000 by Felix Rohner and Sabina Schärer  (PANArt Hangbau AG). The Hang is played with the hand and fingers, there is a central note (Ding) withther 7 or 8 tone fields surrounding the ding, on the underside is a resonant opening (Gu).  The sound from the Hang is very unique and sounds beautiful and mesmerising.

‘Hang’ in the Bernese dialect means ‘Hand’.

It wasn’t until I visited Tahiti that I truly discovered what Mana was and now I realise it is a part of us all and surrounds us. Mana is an uncontrollable force or quality that resides in people, animals, and inanimate objects. In Polynesian culture, Mana is a spiritual quality considered to have supernatural origin – a sacred impersonal force existing in the universe.

Its difficult to explain but we all know its there but sometimes we dont acknowledge it is around us or in our surroundings.

It is simply life itself….