All 14 play where the library writes them. Nothing here is marked by guesswork: a song is listed only if every one of its notes is a note this instrument can sound, and the line under each title gives the range it covers on the handpan.
Nursery rhymes & first tunes for handpan
The short tunes most people learn an instrument on.
Christmas songs & carols for handpan
Carols and winter songs old enough to belong to everyone.
Folk & traditional songs for handpan
Songs passed on by singing long before anyone printed them.
Classical melodies for handpan
Themes from the concert hall that fit under one hand.
What each scale can play
Counted over the 14 songs above. “As written” is where the library puts the tune; “moved” is songs that fit only in another key the handpan offers, or an octave up or down; “cannot” is songs with a note that size does not have.
| Scale | As written | Moved | Cannot |
|---|---|---|---|
| D Kurd | 12 | 0 | 2 |
| D Celtic Minor | 13 | 0 | 1 |
| D Hijaz | 1 | 1 | 12 |
| E Amara | 13 | 0 | 1 |
| E Equinox | 3 | 0 | 11 |
Songs the handpan cannot play
22 songs in the library are left out, because no size, key or octave here has every note. These are the notes each would need in its closest fit:
- Happy Birthday — needs G3, B3.
- We Wish You a Merry Christmas — needs G3, B3.
- Yankee Doodle — needs G3, B3.
- Silent Night — needs B4, D5, E5, F5.
- Brahms' Lullaby — needs B4.
- Amazing Grace — needs G3.
- Mo Li Hua (Jasmine Flower) — needs G3.
- Linstead Market — needs B3.
- Canon in D — needs B4, D5, E5.
- Deck the Halls — needs B3, B4.
- O Christmas Tree — needs G3, B3.
- Joy to the World — needs B4.
- Hark! The Herald Angels Sing — needs G3, B3.
- O Come, All Ye Faithful — needs G3, B3.
- God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen — needs G3, B3.
- Away in a Manger — needs G3, B3.
- The First Noel — needs B4.
- Good King Wenceslas — needs G3, B3.
- Jolly Old Saint Nicholas — needs C4.
- O Holy Night — needs F♯4, B4, D5, E5.
- Auld Lang Syne — needs G3.
- Carol of the Bells — needs E3, F♯3, G♯3, B3.
Songs that are not here
Everything on this page is public domain — traditional melodies and pieces old enough to belong to everyone. Film, game and pop songs are still in copyright, and an arrangement of one is a copy of the melody whatever notation it is written in, so they are not published here. The online handpan has a tab editor instead: write your own, and the notes travel inside the link you share rather than being uploaded.
Every song, on every instrument · Christmas songs for all instruments