All About the HangAn Introduction to the Hang, A.K.A. the Hang Drum.
Overview of the Hang, a.k.a. the Hang drum. How it works, how it is constructed, and links for further information.
Overview:The Hang, pronounced "hung", also referred to as a Hang drum, is a relatively new musical instrument. Descended from the steel drum, it resembles a cross between a steel drum, gamelan, and gong. The range of sound it can produce is very wide, sounding like a gong, steel drum, or even vibraphone. Hang means (human) hand in the Bern language. Appropriately enough, it is generally played using the hands, with different sounds created using different parts of the hand. It is also made and tuned by hand in Bern, Switzerland by creators, Felix Rohner and Sabina Schärer of the PANArt company. At the writing of this article, orders are only being taken on a limited basis and each Hang is unique. Despite these seeming limitations, the Hang is enjoying immense popularity. A recent search on Youtube turned up 226 videos of the Hang. Several fan sites have also grown up around the instrument. Construction of the hang:The Hang is made from two hemispheres of chemically-strengthened steel joined together, resembling a flying saucer. The two sides are referred to as the Ding and Gu. The Ding side contains seven to nine "tone fields", which look like dents in the surface, arranged in a circle around the Ding itself, a smaller hemisphere in the center. The "tone fields" are the notes of the hang. The scale of the notes are chosen by the owner when the Hang is constructed. The Ding can also be struck to create a deeper, gong-like note. The Gu side has no notes and has a hole, also called the Gu in the center. The Gu can be used to modulate sounds from the Ding or can be played like an udu (a traditional African resonant drum). Further reading:
Other unique instruments:
The copyright of the article All About the Hang in Instrumental Music is owned by Michael Buell Jr. Permission to republish All About the Hang in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
Comments Mar 29, 2007 3:49 PM
Michael Buell Jr :
May 13, 2007 5:19 PM
Michael Paschko :
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