Kita Pantam<br> C# Pygmy 9-16

Buy Kita C# Pygmy Handpan

Kita Pantam is suitable for both beginners and advanced handpan players . The sophisticated sound balance makes these instruments a special playing experience . The medium-long sustain enables both fast, intense and quiet melodic playing styles.

Each Kita Handpan is made with passion, dedication and perfection. All instruments are made by hand by Nima Taghavi and his team and are worked out down to the smallest detail, both visually and acoustically.

The sound of the Orient is in every KitaPantam. 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 of Europe to become part of our Handpan.World network. These instruments not only bring with them their own 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.

Personalized designs & custom-made products:

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

We have at least one design in stock for every classic tuning. If your desired design is not currently available, you can order it through the Handpan online shop . Since Kita has already prepared almost every tuning with nine and ten tone fields, a custom-made product takes around five weeks to be delivered to you. For special tunings - especially low scales or extended handpan instruments with many additional tone fields and bottom notes - the production time can take up to three months.

Mutant Handpans, Low Scales and Bottom Notes at Kita Pantam:

KitaPantam is one of the few handpan manufacturers worldwide that can produce almost all scales and tunings - 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 tonal circle. These instruments give the player more versatility and flexibility when playing complex melodies .

Extended handpans with bottom notes are instruments with additional sound fields on the bottom. Kita Pantams can attach up to 20 sound fields to a handpan. You can find out which scale can be built with how many sound fields in the respective product.

Low scales, with the fundamental note of the scales B2 to F2, can also be made.

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

Kita Handpan made of nitrided steel:

Nitrided steel is a heat-treated steel sheet into which nitrogen has been added. Nitrogen hardens the material and makes it more stable and resistant to attacks and playing touches. This increases the tuning stability of the handpan and the player can enjoy the instrument for longer before it needs to be retuned. Nitrided steel was initially used to make the first handpan drums and was later further developed by handpan, pantam and sound sculpture makers .

Although handpans are now made of both nitrided steel and stainless steel , nitrided steel - the original material of the first handpans - still seems to have the greater demand among handpan enthusiasts. This type of material offers a medium sustain range , more ceramic and clay sound and high frequencies in the tones, which makes it good for outdoor playing. In addition, notes have a clearer and separated sound, which optimizes the nitrided steel KitaPantams 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 cared for with appropriate oil/wax. You can find out all the know-how on how to protect your Pantam or Handpan here: -> Handpan Care

KitaPantam manufacture 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 middle than at the edge - which leads to less sound stability.

How do I properly care for my Kita Handpan?

Handpans made of nitrided steel require regular renewal of the protective layer on their surface. Applying a special care oil for handpans creates a patina that protects your instrument from the effects of salts, acids and moisture. This prevents rust and discoloration of the material and ensures that the original surface appearance is preserved for a long time. When caring for your handpan, use a very soft microfiber cloth to avoid scratches. To ensure that your handpan is well cared for, we recommend one of our handpan care oils or care sets .

Before you apply the handpan oil , you should definitely remove any accumulated dirt, such as grease, salts and acids, with a high-percent cleaning alcohol. This will prevent the care oil from mixing with substances that are harmful to the steel and having a negative effect on the material despite the supposed protective layer. You can get cleaning alcohol such as isopropanol in any drugstore and many supermarkets, or you can easily order it here from the Handpan.World online shop.

Neglected care can lead to flying rust and even deep rust formation, especially in the case of nitrided handpans. Weekly care of your Kita handpan is therefore essential.

Important instructions:

1. Never store your handpan in a bag.
   

2. Wash your hands before each game.
   

3. Clean and care for your handpan every 1-2 weeks

-> Click here for detailed Handpan care instructions

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

Including special handpan care oil

Tuning name: Pygmy
Standard key sequence: C#/ F# G# AC# EF# G# A
Atmosphere: Meditative - Introverted - Floating
Tonal Center: DING
Mode: Aeolian minor
Tone range: Pentatonic

Semitones: 2- 1-4-3-2-2-1-4

Mood description Pygmy:

Pygmy is an extremely popular scale. Apart from the name, this scale only has the number of notes up to the octave in common with pygmy music (pentatonic). The equi-pentatonic scale, which some African peoples traditionally use, would probably also be very unusual for our western ears. Nevertheless, this hemitonic pentatonic scale is very good for both rhythmic patterns and melodic phrases.

A special feature of both Pygmy versions is that four of the five tones are present again one octave higher, allowing the overtones to be amplified well (cf. natural scale).

Pygmy is often referred to as Dorian pentatonic . We don't understand this term because there is no sixth degree. The term Dorian pentatonic probably came about in analogy to church scales. In connection with pentatonics, this approach makes little sense because in this example the major sixth note, which is absolutely important for the Dorian mode, is missing. Apart from that, Pygmy is a very cool sounding scale!

The special thing about this Pygmy tuning is that it is a hemitonic pentatonic. This means that, unlike a normal major or minor pentatonic (anhemitonic pentatonic), there is also a semitone. This is between the first and second tone, so the first three tones of the natural minor scale (Aeolian) are present in Pygmy without a jump. In the example F Pygmy, that would be FG-Ab. From this tone, there is a jump of a major third (also called a major third) to the fifth tone (in the example: tone C). This is followed by a minor third jump and a whole tone step that leads to the octave. From here, there is the same sequence of tones up to the twelfth tone (fifth tone in the upper octave).

Despite the presence of a semitone and its potential for friction, Pygmy is very easy and intuitive to play. Clearly recommended even for beginners!

Possible tone sequences:
Sequence with 9 notes: C#/ F# G# AC# EF# G# A
Sequence of 10 notes:

• Option 1 - Extension to the high notes: C#/ F# G# AC# EF# G# A (B)
  
• Option 3 - Extension into the lows: C#/ (D) F# G# AC# EF# G# A
  

Sequence of 11 notes:

• Option 1 - Extension to the high notes: C#/ F# G# AC# EF# G# A (B) (C#)
  
• Option 2 - Width extension: C#/ F# G# A (B) C# (D) EF# G# A
  
• Option 3 - Extension into the lows: C#/ (D) (E) F# G# AC# EF# G# A
  

Sequence of 12 notes:

• Option 1 - Extension to the high notes: C#/ F# G# AC# EF# G# A (B) (C#) (D)
  
• Option 2 - Width extension: C#/ F# G# A (B) C# (D) EF# G# A (B)
  
• Option 3 - Extension into the low notes: C#/ (D) (E) F# G# A (B) C# EF# G# A

Sequence with 13 notes:

• Option 1 - Extension to the high notes: C#/ F# G# AC# EF# G# A (B) (C#) (D) (E)
  
• Option 2 - Width extension: C#/ F# G# A (B) C# (D) EF# G# A (B) (C#)
  
• Option 3 - Extension into the low notes: C#/ (D) (E) F# G# A (B) C# (D) EF# G# A
  

Sequence of 14 notes:

• Option 1 - Extension to the high notes: C#/ F# G# AC# (D) EF# G# A (B) (C#) (D) (E)
  
• Option 2 - Expansion in width:
  
• Option 3 - Extension into the low notes: C#/ (D) (E) F# G# A (B) C# (D) EF# G# A (B)
  

Sequence of 15 notes:

• Option 1 - Extension to the high notes: C#/ F# G# A (B) C# (D) EF# G# A (B) (C#) (D) (E)
  
• Option 3 - Extension into the low notes: C#/ (D) (E) F# G# A (B) C# (D) EF# G# A (B) (C#)

* Bottom notes are additional tone fields on the bottom of the handpan and are written in round brackets e.g. (DE).

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

→ You can read a detailed article about Mutant & Bottom Note Handpans here: Blog post

→ Discover our full range of Mutant & Bottom Note Handpans here

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

Suitable moods:
Very suitable for collaborative, improvised playing:

• E Major (Parallel Tuning)
• E Sabye (parallel tuning)
• F# Celtic Minor /Amara
• C# Kurd / Annaziska
  
• B Ragadesh
• C# Equinox
• C# Magic Voyage
• G# Aeolians
• G# Low Pygmy
• A Jibuk
• C# Mystic
• C# Integral
• Aegean
• F# La Sirena

Also good for composing together:

• G# Hijaz
• C# Romanian Hijaz / Kaffa
• G# Kurd
• B Celtic Minor / Amara
• B Sabye
• G# Celtic Minor / Amara
• D# Hijaz

Nima Taghavi started building handpans in 2015 and founded KitaDrums - now KitaPantam - at the end of the year. Initially, Nima Taghavi built 12-inch steel tongue drums and at the same time explored the art of handpan construction. As the workflow and manufacturing processes developed, the steel tongue drums were replaced by stainless steel instruments and soon tongue pans were added to the portfolio.

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

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