✨ Handpan Terminology 📚

Instrument Parts

• Ding - Central dome/tone field in the middle
• Tone field/Note field - Tuned areas that produce notes when struck
• Shoulder - Area surrounding the central ding
• Gu - Resonance opening on the bottom (sound hole)
• Dimple - Highlighted or recessed areas in the center of each tone field
• Top shell - Upper half of the handpan
• Bottom shell - Lower half of the handpan
• Rim/Edge - Non-resonant part holding the two halves together
• Interspace - Areas between tone fields

Instrument Types & Variations

• Handpan - Generic term for the instrument
• Hang/Hang Drum - PANArt's trademarked original instrument 
• Pantam - Alternative term combining "pan" and "ghatam"
• Cupola - Rare umbrella term for handpans
• Spacedrum - Brand name by Metal Sounds
• Double Sider - Handpan with tone fields on both sides
• Mutant Handpan - Instruments with more than 10 tone fields
• Bottom Notes - Tone fields on the underside

Materials

• Stainless steel - Rust-resistant steel
• Nitrided steel - Nitrogen-treated steel
• Raw steel/Unprocessed steel - Basic steel form

Musical Terms

• Scale/Tuning - Selection of notes available
• Diatonic scale - Seven-note subset
• Chromatic scale - All 12 pitches 
• Major scale - Perceived as "happier"
• Minor scale - Perceived as "mysterious"
• Chord - Three or more notes played simultaneously
• Arpeggio - Chord notes played sequentially
• Overtones/Harmonics - Additional tones above the fundamental
• Octave - Note eight steps higher
• Flat (b) - Note one semitone lower
• Sharp (#) - Note one semitone higher

Sound Qualities

• Sustain - How long notes ring after being struck
• Timbre/Tone color - Quality/character of sound
• Dynamics/Dynamic range - Volume spectrum from quietest to loudest
• Helmholtz resonance - Air resonance in the cavity

Technical Terms

• Crosstalk - Unwanted activation of other tone fields
• Sympathetic activation - Desired activation of other fields
• Impedance/Phase cancellation - Sound waves canceling each other
• Isolation - Preventing unwanted vibrations between fields
• Stability - Ability to maintain tuning

Playing Techniques

• Slap - Light strike with soft hand parts
• Knock/Tap - Striking with knuckles
• Tak - Percussive sound from striking interspaces
• Shoulder tones - Sounds from the shoulder area
• Singing the ding - Rubbing technique on central field
• Busking - Street performance

Musical Concepts

• Pattern - Sequence of notes
• Groove/Rhythm - Specific way a piece is played
• Beat/Tempo - Speed measured in BPM
• Time signature - Beats per measure
• Measure/Bar - Musical "sentence"
• Metronome - Device for keeping steady tempo

Other Terms

• Idiophone - Instrument producing sound through body vibration 
• Gathering - Meeting of handpan players and makers
• Sound sculpture - Artistic term for handpans