As a veteran steelpan enthusiast (23 years), it is disheartening to say the least, that there is apparently a Handpan Mafia in existence which collectively, whether willfully or not, has conspired to remove the handpan from the traditional steelpan family of which it is a descendant. In the process, they have essentially on the whole, emerged from out of the shadows and have now basically cornered the handpan market. They simultaneously charge exorbitant, over-inflated prices for instruments which only maintain their over-inflated valuation due to an essentially uninformed, easily led, and non-musically oriented buyers market.
Allow me to expand.
The handpan is an instrument that has a wide appeal on a viral level due to its inherent simplicity musically speaking. In terms of the actual playing of notes, with 8-9 notes tuned in one lonely scale, it is nearly impossible to hit a wrong note with most handpan tunings. Percussion and finger techniques aside, virtually anyone with no musical background can play a handpan and make relatively decent music, which in turn, allows handpan players to present themselves as musicians fairly easily.
The handpan's user-friendly nature is one of the great keys to the handpan's wide appeal and strong demand. The other great key being the mellow sound, which is a distinct steelpan sound.
In the previous blog post, I noted how it is easier for a traditional steelpan tuner to tune a handpan than it is for a traditional handpan tuner to tune a traditional steelpan. The same can be said with regard to players of traditional steelpans and players of handpans.
A traditional pannist with no prior knowledge of the handpan will be able to play a handpan more effectively than a handpan player who attempts to play a traditional steelpan with no prior knowledge of the steelpan. This is due to the fact that traditional steelpans are generally chromatic instruments with some, like the tenors and double seconds, double tenor and quadrophonics, containing more than 3 full octaves.
As the level of playing difficulty varies so immensely between traditional steelpans and handpans, traditional steelpans are usually not appealing to handpan enthusiasts simply due to the fact that the user-friendly nature of the handpan is not present in the traditional steelpan per say. While it may take a new handpan player a few months to become proficient in playing the handpan, it generally takes at least a few years for a new traditional pannist to become proficient with the instrument
Additionally, on the flip side of the coin, handpans are of little to no interest to traditional steelpan enthusiasts, many of whom consider the handpan a ''boring'' instrument due to its severe limitations musically speaking.
Therefore it is evident, that these two markets rarely intersect for these reasons.
It is safe to say that many of first time handpan owners or expectant owners have little to no musical background. Unlike most buyers of traditional steelpans, who most likely already know how to play the pan and have a musical background before they purchase one. Many traditional steelpan buyers already play the instrument in a band, but would like to own their own instrument.
The handpan basically allows a musical novice to present him or herself as a musician without the years of training that usually is required to play a chromatic instrument such as a traditional steelpan, while at the same time ''passing'', if I may call it that, as a ''decent'' musician.
It is precisely here that the Handpan Mafia has realized a golden opportunity and has undoubtedly seized upon it.
The first step in the Handpan Mafia's consolidation and cornerning of the market, especially at the high-end, was and is the continuing implication that the handpan is somehow a unique instrument. It is certainly not. The distinction of being a unique musical instrument DOES belong to the traditional steelpan however!
This is evident to me on a near daily basis, as the many people who see me play pan ask me if I am playing a ''hang''! So it is quite clear to me that in some parts of the world at least, many people do not even know of the traditional steelpan, but are aware of the handpan.
As far as we at KaribPAN are concerned, it is the duty of every handpan maker to acknowledge the Caribbean origin of the handpan instrument, instead of marketing it as a unique Swiss (European) invention by implication or otherwise. I may also point out that no members of the Handpan Mafia are from the Caribbean, neither do they have Caribbean backgrounds. In sum, this makes them cultural misappropriators at the very least.
The second tactic the Handpan Mafia uses is the patenting of names related to the steelpan, which lends further credibility to the lie whether by implication, intention or both, that the handpan is a unique invention!
Thirdly, online discussion forums for handpan enthusiasts are operated and funded by this Handpan Mafia to highlight other Handpan Mafia affiliated outifits while virtually blacklisting or censoring discussions about their competition on the Mafia-owned forums. Competition which consists of basically more than 90% of the other handpan makers on the market. This Handpan Mafia is even content to refer to themselves as a ''Family'' of all things, while all other makers who are not aligned with them are outsiders or non-''Family'' by default.
The mean spirited, selfish nature of this behavior of the Handpan Mafia is quite obvious to anyone who loves the steelpan and engages in the business of pan out of pure love for the instrument. These malicious tactics only serve to segregate, and ultimately isolate the handpan into a classification of its own, which is the Handpan Mafia's desired result. Unfortunately for them however, they can never ultimately succeed in transforming the handpan into a ''unique'' instrument because they cannot rewrite history at this early stage in the life of steelpan. Steel pan has not even reached its 100th year of existence, so it is still a relatively modern instrument whose history is still being written to this day by the thousands of traditional pannists today who keep the steelpan tradition and culture alive, as well as new handpan players currently discovering the instrument!
Undoubtedly however, the ''new'' culture of the handpan community is radically different than the culture that historically emanates from the traditional steelpan community, which brings me to my next post where we will compare and contrast the culture of the Handpan and the culture of the traditional steelpan!
Maybe I will post more about this phenomenon of the Handpan Mafia at a later date. However, this literal corruption, misrepresentation and misappropriation in the industry has encouraged my partners and I to offer very reasonably priced, high quality options on the market.
At KaribPAN we pride ourselves in conductingthe business of pan in a socially responsible and ETHICAL manner.
Everyone is a tuning expert and never tuned a pan in their life! Musical novices, people who don’t know about music, people who have no credentials, EVERYONE is an expert when it comes to handpan tuning, with the exception of the tuner who these self appoiinted ’’experts’’ are trying to criticize, demonize, ostracize, whatever.
Javier, let me point out to you that even if you have a bunch of negatively oriented haters who claim that a product sucks such as you Sander, and Alexander (funny how those names rhyme and they made similar conmments!) this does not make it so because none of you have established yourselves as any kind of experts. The expertise in our shop speaks or SINGS on our behalf because we have many satisfied customers all over the world. Just because a couple of handpan players take exception to my words and decide to get their panties in a bunch and lash out in emotional fits at me, that does not deter me from my mission!
I am on a mission to bring the handpan back into the steelpan family where it rightfully belongs because it is handpan elitists like yourself who feel like you are experts on everything concerning tuning and a quality instrument, BUT NEVER SOLD ONE!
Please demonstrate your credentials if you want your opinion to be taken seriously by anyone with critical thinking skills and good judgement. The elitism on behalf of many in the handpan community is obvious to any thinking person with a working brain. Look no farther than here!
I definitely hurt some people’s feelings, but I am not motivated by ’’Likes’’ on FB and money like the rest who will lie to you, overcharge you and then take your money to the bank laughing at you while you think you have a ’’special’’ instrument, if you do even own a handpan.
Really, some people in the handpan community are the most close minded people I have ever met and it is obvious! Especially, when they have to face the truth about the history of their beloved instrument! WHile you may admit it comes from the steelpan, trust me, you do so grudgingly as if you wish it didn’t!
STAY TUNED TO MY NEXT BLOG POST:
The Radically Different CUltures between the Traditional Steel Pan Communities & the Handpan Communities!
I am with sander
I appreciated your post and insight but u forgot something essential
many of us, makers and players, we aknoweldeg the path opened and legacy of steel pan. There are good will people out there and also some idiots they try to scum others, pity. But there is a primal reality ion the fack the the hang and generally speaking the handpan is a revolutionary instrument, and YES it is because its simplicity, understanding simplicity for the way it sounds, it resonates and the small amount of tones comparing with a stellpan, but complex, the art of making it and tunning it. thats the succes of the hang.
I was very surprised also to check the link of your instrument, which is far away from being a quality one. If u honestly think is selling this, you should defenetely add the steaker of handpan mafia on the box.
STAY TUNED for our upcoming KaribPAN blog post:
The Radically Different Cultures of the Traditional Steelpan & the Handpan Communities
Dear Alexander,
I think the real negativity is projected by the HandPan Mafia, and that in turn filters down into the buying public because in a very big way, there is an elitism that exists pervasively throughout the handpan community, especially when traditional steelpans are brought into the discussion.
In your case, it is akin to the pot calling the kettle black and what in psycholical terms is known as ’’projection’’ and ‘’reaction formation’’.
Anyone can accuse a maker of having a poor product, but its hard to convince other reasonable people of this especially when you only have your apparently uneducated, negative opinion to offer on the matter.
Again, this is not about a bottom line, or financial gain for me. This is about conducting the business of pan in a socially responsible, ethical manner. Proof of my love of pan is evident in the fact that I am not concerned with selling as much as I am EDUCATING, and continuing to be the Pan Ambassador that I am.