Kita Pantam D Celtic Minor / Amara

Buy Kita Handpan D Celtic Minor / Amara

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

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

The sound of the Orient is in every Kita Pantam. Manufactured 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.

Personalized designs & custom-made products:

Kita Pantam is extremely creative and experienced in developing unique handpan designs. No other high-quality handpan 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 Handpan according to your style. We offer a large number 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 via the Handpan online store. As Kita has already prepared almost every tuning with nine and ten tone fields, it takes about 5 weeks for a custom design 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:

Kita Pantam is one of the few handpan manufacturers in the world that can produce almost all scales and tunings - even those that are considered particularly challenging, such as mutant handpans and low scales.

Mutant handpans are those that have additional notes between the ding and the tone circle. These instruments give the player more versatility and flexibility when playing complex melodies.

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

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

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

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

Kita handpan made of nitrated steel:

Nitrated steel is a heat-treated steel sheet into which nitrogen has been introduced. Nitrogen hardens the material and makes it more stable and resistant to strikes and contact with the instrument. This increases the tuning stability of the handpan and the player can enjoy the instrument for longer until it needs to be retuned. Nitrated steel was first used to make the first handpan drums and was later developed further 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.

How do I look after my Kita handpan properly?

Handpans made of nitrated steel require regular renewal of the protective coating 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 formation 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 good care of your Handpan, we recommend one of our Handpan care oils or care sets.
-> To our Handpan care accessories such as oil or care sets

Before you apply the Handpan oil, you should definitely remove the accumulated dirt, such as grease, salts and acids, with a high-percentage cleaning alcohol. This will prevent the maintenance oil from mixing with substances that are harmful to the steel and having a negative effect on the material despite the supposed protective layer. Cleaning alcohol, such as isopropanol, is available from any drugstore or many supermarkets, or you can order it from the Handpan.World online store.

Neglected care can lead to flying rust and even rust formation in depth, especially with nitrated handpans. Weekly care of your Kita Handpan is therefore essential.

Important notes:

1. Never store your Handpan in a bag.
2. Wash your hands before every 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: nitrated steel

Includes special handpan care oil

Tuning name: Celtic Minor
Synonym: Amara
Standard tone sequence: D/ A C D E F G A C
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 thanks to 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, however, 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:

Tone sequence with 9 notes: D/ A C D E F G A C
Tone sequence with 10 notes: D/ A C D E F G A C D (as in the videos)
Tone sequence with 11 notes: D/ A C D E F G A C D (E)
Tone sequence with 12 notes: D/ (F G) A C D E F G A C D
Tone sequence with 13 notes: D/ (F G) A C D E F G A C D (E)
Tone sequence with 14 notes: D/ (F G) A C D E F G A C D (E F)
Tone sequence with 15 notes:
-Option 1: D (E F G) A C D E F G A C D (E F)
-Option 2: D (E F G)/ A (Bb) C D E F G A 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

Matching tunings:

Very suitable for playing together improvisationally:

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

Also suitable for composing together:

• B Celtic Minor / Amara
• C Aegean
• E Celtic Minor
• E Kurd
• C Celtic Minor / Amara
• C Kurd
• G Sabye

Nima Taghavi started building handpans in 2015 and founded Kita Drums - now Kita Pantam - at the end of that year. Initially, Nima Taghavi was building 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 Pantams are 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.