Hang Drum

The Hang Drum, Hang-Hang, Hung or Hang as it is more widely known, is a Swiss musical instrument produced by PANArt, which is based out of Bern, Switzerland. Production began around 2000 and the company has slowly forged a very strong reputation for producing a truly unique and wonderful instrument that can not be rivaled by it's competitors. Essentially, it could be argued that the Hang's roots are from a sister instrument (the Steel Pan), an instrument founded in Trinidad and Tobago. Certainly sound wise they have very similar characteristics, however, the structure and craftsmanship required to produce these instruments do differ. The Hang (Hang Drum) is shaped like a flying saucer, which is fully enclosed with a hole at the bottom to enable sound to amplify, (much like a Cajon or Djembe) where as the Steel Pan has a more open base of the drum. Whilst the Steel Pan is played with sticks, the Hang is played by the hands and is so new that there is no real established technique as yet. It is, however, on first playing, fairly difficult to obtain a clear pitch using the fingers, and the technique required has a likeness to bongo and conga playing. (e.g it sounds a lot easier than it is!).

The Hang Drum comes in several scales depending on the date of production and there have been many versions. To name a few, 1st Generation, 2nd Generation, Integral Hang and Free Integral Hang. Due to the fact that PANArt hand make these instruments, there isn't an infinite amount available. With the boom of interest, demand is high and supply is unfortunately low. This results in them being a highly sought after and valuable instrument for many.