Australian Musician @adrian_portia and His Magical Handpan...

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Australian Musician @adrian_portia and His Magical Handpan Drumming Videos

To see more of Adrian’s handpan drumming, follow @adrian_portia on Instagram. For more music stories from around the world, head to @music.

The first time Adrian Portia (@adrian_portia) laid eyes on a handpan drum was in an online video in 2008. He fell in love with it immediately. The instrument, designed by a Swiss couple from Bern, Switzerland, was less than a decade old then. It was a bit like an inverted steel pan, except instead of mallets it was played with a person’s bare palms.

Unfortunately for Adrian, a trained drummer and percussionist who grew up outside Melbourne, Australia, getting one would take more than his checkbook. The handpan –– or as it was called at the time, the hang –– was made from steel and hand-tuned with a hammer. Creating one was an intricate, time-consuming process, and the chances of owning one himself were slim. The only way was to write a handwritten letter to the Swiss couple, who were then the only makers of the handpan. If they accepted you (a big if, considering the number of letters they received), you would fly over to Switzerland, pay for it and come home.

“I was kind of deterred at the time,” says Adrian, who, at the age of 10, was taught how to play the drums by his musician father. “But it was always in my mind. I always knew that I was going to play this instrument, I just didn’t know when.”

Still, the length of time to get one could be torturous. But Adrian was persistent – and lucky. One morning, he awoke at five and went onto the website of a music store he had visited in Long Beach, California.

“I don’t know why but something just told me to go on and check it out,” recalls Adrian. “He had four instruments up for a flash sale. And three of the instruments he wasn’t really happy with the quality so he had a discounted price. But one was a good quality instrument. And I just went, boom, buy now.”

Adrian soon began playing the handpan and recording the results. Over the last two years, he has become known for his unique percussive style, performing grooves and melodies at the same time. Each of his videos shows a close-up on the drum, with his hands skipping across the surface like pebbles on water.

“A lot of players just come along and belt them. The thing is, if you strike it too hard you detune the instrument quite quickly, because it is hand-hammered,” he says, adding, “For me it was a little bit easier to adapt. But it’s been a constant learning curve.”

Adrian has been proud to impart his evolving handpan knowledge onto younger musicians, giving lessons and making it the driving force behind his upcoming solo album. Unlike the guitar or the piano, the handpan is still in its infant stages. Adrian, along with the community of handpan players from around the world, has the chance to shape how it’s seen and heard by future generations.

“We’re making the history of this instrument right now,” he says. “It’s quite a magical instrument.”

–– Instagram @music

by via Instagram Blog