How to fill in your deck

A Note on Unique & Experimental Scales

The music theory used across this site assumes that instruments follow standard Western harmonic structures. One of the best things about the handpan world is its complete freedom…you can put any combination of notes on an instrument that sounds beautiful to your ear! If your instrument is one of those that sits outside of these traditional rules, that’s awesome! It opens up loads of incredibly unique, mystical sonic possibilities, but it does mean it will naturally produce fewer of the ‘standard’ chords mapped out in this booklet.

How do I know if my handpan follows these rules? Don’t panic! Over 95% of handpans made today fit perfectly into these standard rules. Your instrument is fully supported if its scale is a standard:

• Natural Minor / Aeolian (like a Kurd or Integral)
• Dorian Mode (like a Celtic Minor or Amara)
• Major / Ionian (like a Sabye or Ashakiran)
• Harmonic Minor (like a standard Hijaz)

When might my pan be an exception? Your pan might be one of the “whacky” ones if it was custom-made with microtones (quarter-tones), spans multiple completely unrelated keys on a single shell, or is an experimental hybrid scale that doesn’t have a clear parent key.

Still not sure? If you can easily look up your scale name online and see it classified as a Major, Minor, Dorian, or Hijaz scale, your ChordBook pack will work perfectly!