People, who love music, cannot imagine their lives without it. Even when you travel to another continent, you want to have your favorite musical instrument with you. True, that it would be a hard thing if you decided to carry your piano or tuba to a deserted beach somewhere in Greece, as you might have some logistic problems; but what if your choice of an instrument is something small and cool, like a handpan drum? With this easy-to-learn music tool, you will become a star both on the streets of Paris and under the palms of Indonesian coast.

A handpan is originated from Trinidad, a country that is famous for carnival music. In the 1970s, when the Western world first learned about it, handpan became a real phenomenon. Be sure that most of the people, who will hear you playing this musical instrument, will say something like: ‘How are you making this cosmic sound? It is a miracle!’. However, you know that it is not. Handpan is simply a convex steel drum tuned with multiple notes, which has the ability to produce ethereal effects and multiple layers of sound. It is played with hands only. Curious fact that its original name is hung (pronounced “hah-ng”), but later the name turned to be “hand” (thank the little Swedish producers and the Swiss-German dialect).

Choosing Handpan Guide: What To Look For

So, how to choose the instrument that would be suitable for you in your travelings? How do you find the one that can produce the best music?

First of all, if you want a real one, you should search for hand-made product only. However, there are still not many craftsmen, who produce really unique high-quality handpans. It can also be very expensive, as to buy one directly from the producer can cost you from $2,000 to $10,000, but there is a big chance that you will wait for your special handpan for a really long time, like months or even years.

Taking such an expensive thing for a journey with you will definitely make you feel uneasy to stay in 8-bed rooms of hostels, travel by bus or live in a tent with no security around. So you may consider a cheaper purchase, for instance, look for the second-hand thing on eBay. Just be careful, as if you are determined to buy a handpan drum, do not go for the tongue drums – these kinds of scams occasionally occur on the Internet.

For your immediate purchase, you can always use Amazon. There are more mass-market drums, this is why they are cheaper and not so unique. Although a perfect gear does not make you a perfect musician, so you may think of taking something from mass-market for your trip, so you won’t be worried about the safety of your precious one all the time.

Remember, that for traveling you need also a protective case or a bag. You can find special accessories for handpans or use something that you already have. Enjoy your trip and fill it with the magical handpan drum music. Let us know how you go. We might post another article about how to use handpan and some handpan music tutorials in the near future.