Playing the handpan is a wonderful experience. It's an instrument that produces meditative sounds, allows for improvisation, and immerses you deeply in the music. But many handpan players, whether beginners or advanced, face a challenge: How do you memorize melodies, practice new pieces, and easily capture notes? This is where the notepan comes in!
In my latest video, I introduce you to the Notepan software , which was developed specifically for handpan players. I've been using it for over six months now and want to show you why I wouldn't want to be without it for a single day.
What is Notepan?
Notepan is a digital solution that lets you save, organize, and even transpose your handpan pieces. It's software specifically designed for handpan players that allows you to:
✔ Capture and save your favorite songs.
✔ New pieces are easier to learn and practice.
✔ Browse through a huge library of handpan pieces.
✔ Adjust the tempo of your practice with a metronome.
✔ Export sheet music as PDF or audio.
✔ Write down and save your own melodies.
With these features, Notepan stands out clearly from classic notation programs because it is specifically tailored to the handpan and makes practicing and playing much more comfortable.
My personal experiences with Notepan
I discovered Notepan about six months ago and was hooked from the start. Before, I often found myself coming up with great melodies – only to forget them. Notepan helps me capture my ideas instantly, so I can easily play them again later.
I find the ability to organize my handpan pieces particularly useful. I can save my sheet music and create playlists for different moods—whether I want to focus on a specific piece or simply improvise.
Another highlight: I can transpose pieces , meaning I can convert notes from one handpan tuning to another. For example, I can have a song written for D-Kurd automatically converted for my F-Pygmy. Simply brilliant!
What I still want from Notepan
Although Notepan already offers many great features, there are a few that I would like to see in the future:
1️⃣ An iPad or Android app so you don’t always have to sit at your PC or laptop.
2️⃣ A feature where the software releases the microphone and adapts to the tempo being played. This would allow the notes to only continue playing when the correct note is played – similar to this piano - e-piano app .
3️⃣ An even easier way to export multiple pieces at once as PDF.
Despite these wishes, Notepan is already a huge help to me and a tool that I don't want to be without anymore.
Conclusion – Is Notepan worth it?
In my opinion, Notepan is currently the best software for handpan players to save, learn, and develop pieces. The features are tailored precisely to the needs of handpan players and make practicing much more enjoyable. I also find the pricing structure fair: You can purchase Notepan either monthly for €8, annually for €48, or as a lifetime version for €199.
If you're new to Notepan, I highly recommend trying out the 14-day trial version . You can download it here: https://www.notepan.fr
👉 You can find my video about Notepan here:
Feel free to check it out and let me know what you think of Notepan in the comments! Are you already using it, or are there any features you'd like to see added? I'm looking forward to your feedback! 😊