Kita Pantam E Celtic Minor / Amara

The Kita Handpans are suitable for both beginners and advanced handpan players. The sophisticated sound balance makes these instruments a
special playing experience. The medium-length sustain allows both fast, intense and calm melodic playing styles.

The sound of the Orient is in every Kita pantam. Made in Esfahan, in the heart of Iran, Kita is one of many civil projects of hope and peace in a politically troubled country. Kita is one of the first manufacturers outside Europe to become part of our Handpan.World network. These instruments not only bring a very unique and special sound spectrum, but also expand the Handpan.World vision: a worldwide, solidarity-based association of the Handpan community. We are so grateful to now be able to represent the Orient and its sounds in the Handpan.World cosmos.

Kita Pantam is made with passion, dedication and perfection.
All instruments are handcrafted by Nima Taghavi and his team and finished to the smallest detail, both visually and tonally.

Personalized designs & custom-made instruments:

Kita Pantam is extremely creative and experienced in developing unique handpan designs. No other high-quality maker has such a wide range of unusual finishes to offer. This makes it possible to fulfill special design wishes. You can personalize your Kita Pantam according to your style. We offer a wide range of fascinating designs that only the Kita team can create.

We have at least one design of every classic tuning in stock. If your desired design is not available, you can order it here. As Kita has already prepared almost every tuning with nine tone fields, it takes approx. 4 weeks for a special design to be delivered to you. For special tunings - especially low scales or instruments with many additional tone fields - the production time can take up to three months.

Kita Mutant Handpans & Low Scales:
Kita Pantam is one of the few manufacturers in the world that is able to produce almost all scales - even those that are considered particularly demanding, such as mutant handpans and low scales.

Mutant handpans are those that have additional notes between the ding and the scale notes. These instruments give players more versatility and flexibility to play different melodies.

Low scales, from B2 to F2 scales can also be made.

The process of making these special instruments is much more time-consuming and risky than with standard handpans. The production can therefore take up to three months and is considerably more cost-intensive than conventional tunings.

Kita pantams made from nitrated steel:

Nitrated steel is a heat-treated steel sheet into which nitrogen has been introduced. The role of nitrogen is to increase the rigidity of the material to make it harder and more stable to the touch. This increases the tuning stability of the handpan and the player can enjoy the instrument for longer until it needs to be retuned. This type of material was first used to make the first handpan drums and then further developed by handpan, pantam and sound sculptor makers.

Although handpans are nowadays made of both nitrated steel and stainless steel, nitrated steel, the original material of the first handpans, still seems to be in greater demand among handpan enthusiasts. This type of material offers a medium sustain range, more ceramic and clay sound and high frequencies in the notes, which makes it good for outdoor playing. In addition, notes have a clearer and separated sound, which optimizes the nitrated steel Kita pantams for faster and more professional playing.

Steel is known to be susceptible to rust and corrosion, and so are the nitrated Kita pantams. To protect them from rust, they should always be maintained with the appropriate oil/wax. You can find out the complete know-how on how to protect your pantam or handpan here: -> Handpan care

Kita Pantam make their raw shells themselves - unlike many other makers. Using a special pressing process, they manage to press the shells evenly so that the material thickness is evenly distributed. Other shells have the problem that they are thinner towards the center than at the edge - which leads to less sound stability.

Diameter: 53 cm
Height: 26.5cm
Weight: approx. 4kg
Material: nitrated steel

Includes special handpan care oil

Tuning name: Celtic Minor
Synonym: Amara
Standard tone sequence: E/ B D E F# G A B D
Atmosphere: Melancholic - Archaic - Medieval
Mode: Minor - Aeolian
Tone range: Hexatonic

Semitones: 7-3-2-2-1-2-2-3

Tonal center: DING

Tuning description:

With this imperishable tone selection (Amara) you can conjure up sounds with ease that are reminiscent of times gone by with pure fifths and fourths. This instrument would probably have found its place in spiritual ceremonies in Celtic times. Compared to the full Aeolian mode, the sixth degree is not present here, which makes this tuning somewhat more open. You can play very beautiful harmonies, especially in the upper range. This is one of the most popular tunings in the world of handpans.

Characteristic of Amara/Celtic Minor is the leap from the DING to the first note in the interval of a pure fifth (example D-A). This fifth leap immediately opens up the tonal space and gives context to the notes above it. The next note is a minor third above the fifth, which in turn is reminiscent of the natural tone row. From here there are two whole tone steps, a semitone step, two whole tone steps and the leap of the minor third to the highest note of the tuning, which results from the absence of the sixth degree (example D Celtic Minor: tone Bb).

This tuning sounds particularly archaic, as many pure intervals (fifth, fourth, octave) can be played, which were already used in the Middle Ages.

Another special feature results from the arrangement of the notes: in the example of D Celtic Minor, the notes on the right-hand side produce the triad of the root note, in this case D minor (A-D-F-A). On the left-hand side, on the other hand, all the notes of the major triad are one note below the root note, i.e. C major (C-E-G-C). When played harmonically, the sound impression of a major key can easily be created. This is probably the most common handpan tuning for a reason.

Possible tone sequences for E Celtic Minor:

Tone sequence with 9 notes: E/ B D E F# G A B D

Tone sequence with 10 notes (as in the first video): E/ B D E F# G A B D E

Tone sequence with 11 notes: E/ (F# G) B D E F# G A B D

Tone sequence with 12 notes: E/ (F# G) B D E F# G A B D E

Tone sequence with 13 notes: E/ (F# G) B (C) D E F# G A B D E

Tone sequence with 14 notes: E/ (F# G) B (C) D E F# G A B (C) D E

*Bottom notes are additional tone fields on the underside of the handpan and are written in round brackets, e.g. (D E).

Mutant handpans have additional notes on the top shell in the second row - between the chorus and the root note. Mutant notes are written in curly brackets, e.g. {D E}.

→ You can read a detailed article on mutant & bottom-note handpans here: Blog post

→ Discover our full selection of mutant & bottom-note handpans here

We only list the standard layouts under "Possible tone sequences". On request, our handpans can also be made with other notes and in other arrangements. Simply send an email with your request to: service@handpan.world

Suitable tunings:

Very suitable for playing together improvisationally:

• G Major (parallel tuning)
• G Sabye (parallel tuning)
• F# Aeolian
• B Celtic Minor / Amara
• E Kurd
• A Ragadesh

Also suitable for composing together:

• C Celtic Minor / Amara
• D Aegean
• F# Celtic Minor
• F# Kurd
• D Celtic Minor / Amara
• D Kurd
• A Sabye

Nima Taghavi started building handpans in 2015 and at the end of the year founded KitaDrums - today Kita Pantam. Initially, Nima Taghavi built 12-inch steel tongued drums while exploring the art of handpan making. As the workflow and manufacturing processes evolved, the steel tongue drums were replaced by stainless steel instruments and soon after, tongue pans (overtone tongue drums) were added to the portfolio.

At the end of 2017, Kita Pantam succeeded in building the first hand pans or pantams, as they call their instruments. Since then, the range of different instruments has been continuously expanded and improved. The team of 20 makers is now probably the highest quality manufacturer of handpans in Iran. All instruments are handmade by Nima and his team. Kita Pantam is made with passion, dedication and perfection.

We at Handpan.World are grateful for the very close cooperation and have the honor to offer these unique instruments exclusively in Europe.