Spirit Wave Handpan B2 Kurd | Stainless Steel

The Spirit Wave Handpans stand for a particularly warm sound experience. Their gentle tones, spiced with a full-bodied timbre, penetrate under the skin into every cell. The long-lasting and well-balanced reverberation, also known as sustain, creates a spherical tapestry of sound - both with slower and faster playing styles. The full, spacious sound creates a calming, warm atmosphere.

The Spirit Wave handpans are very suitable for studio recordings due to their very clear and fine sound. For good reason, they are also particularly popular for accompanying meditation, yoga and sound journeys. The sounds open up a space of inner experience, mindfulness and sensual feeling. An aura of encounter that connects us with our deepest self and with that which is greater than us.

High-quality, specially hardened stainless steel is used in the production process. The visual design and tonal aesthetics of these instruments are well coordinated and form a sophisticated unit. Finely crafted tone fields make them very easy to play. Every touch produces a beautiful sound. This makes the Spirit Wave handpans easy to play, even for beginners.

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

Tuning name: Kurd
Synonyms: Aeolian / with fundamental C# = Annaziska
Basic tone sequence (8+1) : B/ F# G A B C# D E F#
Effect: Warm - Mysterious - Dreamy
Tone range: Heptatonic

Mode:
Phrygian (tonal center 1st note) = major, or
Aeolian (tonal center : Bb) = minor

Semitones : 7- 1 - 2 - 2 - 2- 3 - 2 - 2
Tonal center : DING or first note

Tuning description:

The Kurd tuning is, if you like, the natural minor variant of the handpan tunings. Due to its particularly harmonious combination of notes, it is particularly suitable for beginners. It can be used to play anything from calm and meditative to melancholic to powerful and cheerful, with lots of variation.

Even though this tuning can sound very sentimental, it can also be used to create cheerful soundscapes. For example, the second and third notes each produce a major triad. Just be aware that the second and third notes will rub when played at the same time; you can of course also use this tension deliberately to add spice to your playing and make the relaxation have a stronger effect afterwards.

This tuning is one of the first seven-tone tunings to be built and has become very well known through several videos on the Internet.

Origin and music theory of the Kurd tuning:

Kurd takes its name from the Arabic/Turkish maqam Kurd. This tone selection also shares the arrangement of the tones with this maqam, assuming that the tonal center is on the first tone in the circle. This creates the complete Phrygian mode, which is characterized by a semitone step from the root note to the second note of the scale and is responsible for the mysterious sound of the scale.

However, an ambivalence remains, as the DING is a fifth below the first note and thus appears like a second tonal center, which allows the mode to change to Aeolian (natural minor). Depending on how you play, you can switch between a natural minor and a Phrygian sound character. With Kurd you can play anything from calm and meditative to melancholic to powerful and cheerful, with lots of variation.

Kurd shares with other minor variations (cf. Celtic Minor/Integral) the leap of a fifth from the DING to the first note. From this fifth step, assuming that the tonal center is the DING, you have all the tone steps of a natural minor scale (aeolian). Kurd's semitone step between the first and second note is special. This step is also present in the maqam Kurd (Arabic or Turkish scale system) of the same name (cf. semai Kurd), but also in the Phrygian mode. The Phrygian mode is used in jazz, psychedelic rock, flamenco and fado, but also in classical music.

Possible tone sequences:

Basic tone sequence with 9 notes: B/ F# G A B C# D E F#
Tone sequence with 10 notes: B/ F# G A B C# D E F# (A)

Tone sequence with 11 notes:
Option 1: B/ (D E) F# G A B C# D E F#
Option 2: B/ F# G A B C# D E F# (A B)

Tone sequence with 12 notes:
Option 1: B/ (D E) F# G A B C# D E F# (A)
Option 2: B/ F# G A B C# D E F# (A B C#)

Tone sequence with 13 notes:
Option 1: B/ (D E) F# G A B C# D E F# (A B)
Option 2: B/ F# G A B C# D E F# (A B C# D)

Tone sequence with 14 notes: B/ (D E) F# G A B C# D E F# (A B C#)
Tone sequence with 15 notes: B/ (D E) F# G A B C# D E F# (A B C# D)

*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