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β€Ή Handpan songs
SongsSakura Sakura (さくらさくら)
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35 more songs need notes this instrument does not have. Changing the scale brings some of them into reach.

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  2. 4
  3. 5
  4. 4
  5. 4
  6. 5
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  8. 5
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  10. 5
  11. 4
  12. 5
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  14. 2
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  28. 2

Japanese traditional, Edo period; first published in the 1880s. Public domain.

8 fields Β· D3 ding Β· A3–A4 Β· D harmonic minor: a raised Cβ™― against the Bβ™­ below it, and that step-and-a-half is the whole character.

Tap a field, or drag around the shell to roll across them. On a keyboard the letters on the fields are the ones to press β€” they run up the scale, so they zigzag across the shell exactly as your hands do.

HandpanFree Β· printable Β· plays in your browser

Sakura Sakura β€” Handpan Tabs

Sakura Sakura (さくらさくら), written out for the handpan as the tone field to strike for every note and set up above on the D Hijaz. Press Play to hear it, Practice to learn it one note at a time β€” the handpan waits for you β€” or Play along to keep time with it.

  • Notes28, 4 pitches
  • RangeBβ™­3–F4
  • Key hereD minor
  • Tempo80 bpm Β· about 26 s
  • LevelIntermediate

Can a handpan play Sakura Sakura?

1 of the 5 here do. The check is made note by note against what each one can actually sound. Where the tune does not fit as the library writes it, another key or octave is tried, and the table says which; where nothing fits, it names the notes that are missing.

  • D Kurdβœ• Cannot play itNeeds B4, C5, which it does not have
  • D Celtic Minorβœ• Cannot play itNeeds B4, which it does not have
  • D Hijazβœ“ Plays as writtenIn D minor, Bβ™­3–F4 Β· loaded above
  • E Amaraβœ• Cannot play itNeeds Cβ™―5, which it does not have
  • E Equinoxβœ• Cannot play itNeeds F3, A3, which it does not have

Sakura Sakura: handpan tabs

The large line is the tone field, numbered from the lowest; 0 is the ding; the small line under it is its note. A dash holds the note another beat, an underline is half a beat, and a dot beside a note makes it half as long again. Each line is one phrase.

β–Ά Play it above

Sakura Sakura (さくらさくら) β€” handpan tabs (D Hijaz) Β· tonalics.com

The 4 notes it uses

Lowest to highest, with how many times each is played. Learn these 4 and you can play the whole tune.

  • 2Bβ™­3Γ—2
  • 4D4Γ—14
  • 5E4Γ—10
  • 6F4Γ—2

What to expect on a handpan

  • It runs from Bβ™­3 to F4, a fifth, using 4 different notes. That leaves 8 semitones unused below and 4 above.
  • 89% of its moves are a step or a repeated note. The widest is a major third, D4 to Bβ™­3, at note 14.
  • It uses 4 tone fields of this scale’s 8: 2, 4, 5, 6.
  • 10 notes fall to the left hand and 18 to the right.

About the tune

A Japanese melody from the Edo period, known as a beginner’s piece for the koto before it was published in the 1880s in a collection for teaching that instrument. It is the tune most often used abroad to stand for Japan.

Japanese traditional, Edo period; first published in the 1880s. Public domain. More about Sakura Sakura β†’

Sakura Sakura on other instruments

The same melody, in each instrument’s own notation. It is not offered for the guzheng, which does not have the notes.

More songs for the handpan

All 14 handpan songs Β· The online handpan on its own

Playing it on a real handpan?

If it sounds wrong, check the instrument before the notes. The handpan tuner listens through your microphone and names what each note is actually sounding.

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