hangforum.com - The Archive

Yesterday,

I had a Halo-Hang get-together with a local Halo player, who recently acquired a late first-generation G-Ding Pygmy to compliment has Xa Xiong Diao Halo.

The Hang was just exquisite, the best-sounding first-generation I've played hands down... despite the very high register, all of the notes sang with a long sustain, and most of the harmonics rang clear. The field around the Ding was taut and reactive, and I was immediately able to pull out percussive textures I've only ever heard from Manu Delago before. A tinkly rain of bells, especially after becoming accustomed to the bass voice of the Halo.

It was a complete joy to play, and we talked about the sad situation that this was such a splendid, expressive, unique moment in Hang history, and that however wonderful the later generations are, something is truly lost to the world for the fact that instruments like this are no longer being made by anyone.

I am very hopeful that as Luis of BEllart and others continue to refine their craft we may again hear more instruments like this joining the chorus!

It wasn't perfect, I've never hear a perfect Hang or handpan, but it was very fine indeed... a reminder of how far PANArt has taken their craft.

Fwiw the duo of XXD and this Pygmy was true magic. The timbrel differences added to rather than detracted from their combination, close enough for their voices to intertwine, but also distinct enough that you could follow different parts. Ah, bliss!

It was very hard to leave the Pygmy sitting on his couch...! But I look forward to playing more duets soon....

aaron

Variety is the spice of life... I think the beauty of the Hang in the early days was you had variety, lots of different scales creating different moods and styles of playing. I think this is something that has been lost in the Hang and will now be the success story of the Hangpan makers around the world.

Don't get me wrong, I love the advances that PANart have made with the metal, the tunings and their vision, I just yearn to be able to buy a Hang in a pygmy scale today with the knowledge they now have on tuning.

Variety is the spice of life

I think the simple truth is that they are not able to build a Hang in a Pygmy scale "with the knowledge they now have on tuning" because it is impossible for anybody: On a Pygmy Hang the Ding is not the center of the scale but the fifth. One basic of the new tuning of the Hang is, that the Ding is the center of the circle. A second basic of the new tuning is not to use such high notes in the circle like the Pygmy scale needs. Therefor a Pygmy tuning is impossible.

Ix

Not so long ago man said/believed it was impossible to fly

too true my man... too true... where we before the wright brothers?

Their tuning abilities must have come on over the years, it's inevitable. I wasn't saying the Hang had to be tuned the same way as an integral Hang or a FIH, just that a Pygmy today would surely be more professionally crafted than a first gen Hang from say 5 years ago... the Hang has evolved and so has their knowledge, so its not impossible for them to build a Pygmy Hang today, just not using the tuning of an integral or FIH which clearly wouldn't work.

You cannot separate the concept from the tuning abilities. The sound of the Hang became better because of the concept: Integration instead of isolation. This concept became the leading concept within 2007. In 2006 they experimented with the new generation concept and different scales, wide spread scales, 8 tones or 7 tones in the circle. Within 2007 it came to the clear integral concept: A strong Ding as the center - Gu-Ding resonance - a choir of only seven tones in the circle - A4 became the highest tone.

The vast majority of recordings or videos of Integral Hanghang in the net doesn't demonstrate the real sound potential, because they are not played in an integral way. For example: If the player doesn't adjust the Gu-Ding resonance (and this is seen extremly seldom on YouTube videos) the Ding cannot sing freely. Then you cannot hear the importance of the Ding for the sound. If you play the Hang in an integral way you excite Ding, Gu and the choir at the same time when you excite the Ding. You excite the Gu when you excite the choir and you excite Ding and choir when you excite the Gu.

You cannot do this with a scale where the Ding is not the basis but the fifths.

Ix

IX I know what you're saying, I listen to, read about and have played the integral Hang, its a beautiful piece of work and i'm sure the FIH will be too... i'm only saying I like the Pygmy scale, like I love my own first Gen Hang... like Aaron was saying, a tear for the old skool, I agree with him.

To me the first Gen hangs still sing, after all most of us were first captivated by their beautiful sound, it still has its own beauty. It has its place in the world and variety makes life interesting.

I get what you're saying about Ding/Gu harmonization which is where the Hang is at now but that doesn't mean a guy can't dream of what could be or what would be nice for him... I want a Pygmy Hang today, I know i'll never get one because that's not what PANart are about, nowadays their vision has changed and I accept that. But you can't knock a bloke for wishing or wondering what they would be like 5 years down the line with their tuning abilities even more honed today...

Yes concept takes over and advances in understanding occur that's why a Ferrari today is much more streamlined and faster than a model made back in the 60's/70's, doesn't mean you wouldn't want an old skool Ferrari style built today... the build quality would be far more superior because Ferrari has evolved, surely the Hang builder has also evolved in his understanding of sound, hence the IH and the new FIH, surely the quality of a pygmy scale would be crisper, clearer and more refined today.. or am I catastrophically missing the point here in that the Hang can never go back because the 1st Gen Hangs are essentially crap? (in someone else's opinion of course, I love my Hang)

Either way a dream is a dream and thou shall never take thy dreams from me

"Dream on Badgerboy ! One day you shall fly"

That same day my nose shall grow, my ears shall flap and people will start calling me rumplestiltskin LOL now where did I put that glass slipper??