Hang Drum - Hand Drum

I've just discovered a new musical instrument that when played emits the most beautiful music.
Why had I not heard of this before? 
I love alternative music like the pan flute, chanting monks, among others and now I love the hang drum.
When I first saw the hang (pronounced "hung"), it reminded me of an upside down steel pan,  and when I researched it, it is an offspring of the steel pan.

 Steel Pan drums

Image borrowed from Google images

 

Image borrowed from Google images

Created by Felix Rohner and Sabina Schärer in Bern, Switzerland, it is constructed from two half shells of deep drawn, nitrided steel which are glued together along the rim leaving a hollow inside....it resembles an UFO.

According to Wikepedia, "The top ("Ding") side has a center 'note' hammered into it and seven or eight 'tone fields' hammered around the center. The bottom ("Gu") is a plain surface that has a rolled hole in the center with a tuned note that can be created when the rim is struck."
Using the same basic physical principles as the steel pan, it has been modified in such a way to act as a Helmholtz resonator.

Hang Drum - Hand Drum
 Image borrowed from Wikipedia

It is the result of many years of research on the steel pan and other instruments.
The name Hang  is the Bernese German word for hand....thus the hand drum.
Since its creation in 2000, PANArt has emphasized that it is not a drum but a sound sculpture.

 Image borrowed from Google images

It is a registered trademark of PANArt Hangbau AG....I think I want one.
They're pretty pricey, and since they're hand produced, they're not that many made in any given year.
I guess I will have to make the best of my situation, and would you know it,..... yes there's an app for that.

 Image borrowed from Google images

Naturally, when one becomes an owner of the hang instrument, it becomes a friend forever, and you never let it go, therefore it's incredibly "iffy" to find one for resale.
In the meanwhile I will add its beautiful music to my collection.

The music is hauntingly beautiful, enchanting, calming and surreal all in one....is this possible....YESSSS!

Please watch and enjoy...http://youtu.be/xk3BvNLeNgw?list=PL269B827E21C20BAD
Here is the website.http://www.hang-music.com/hang.php

Update: The company no longer creates the Hang instrument, they are now making the Gubal, an instrument that's similar but yet different. 

Traffic????

Today while I was out and about running a few errands, I found myself caught behind the mounted police neighbourhood patrol.

I love horses, so I was quite happy to drive slowly behind the patrol, while the traffic behind me blew their horns for me to pass them and get on with it.....but.....since I had no intention of doing so I snapped these photos instead.

I kept a safe distance so as not to spook the horses (even though they're trained to ride with vehicular traffic.)

The patrol rode two abreast in a somewhat tight formation, and were rather chatty.
As they approached the stop sign, the leader held his right hand up in a fist to indicate that they should come to a complete stop.

They made a left turn, while Beast and I made a right turn and continued on our way.

It was a lovely day to be outdoors horseback riding, and I felt a bit envious that I could not join them.

The sun shone today!!!

Today was a beautiful day...the sun finally came out and warmed the earth, and everything was more or less back to normal temperature wise.

A nice bright sunny day meant that it was time for you know who to have a bath.
That's his towel all hung out to dry after a lovely scrubbing and toweling off.

 Here he is feeling quite smart with himself .

 

Soaking up some lovely rays of sunshine.

 I am a sunshine girl, and believe me, my spirits were lifted today when the sun peeped out early this morning.
 I couldn't get lost in the garden as I would have liked because it will take a little while for the waterlogged soil to dry out.  I would have loved to be able to pull some weeds in the garden but that will have to wait.
I have promised a friend a few ginger lily plants and it remains to be seen if I will be fighting a losing battle trying to dig them out of the cloggy soil tomorrow....wish me luck.
In the meanwhile another photo of Mr.B.

No sunshine today either

Another dismal rainy day....it just wasn't wise to go out on my jaunt, not with the rain falling seriously from the sky all day long.....more flooding.
Stayed indoors all day wearing a warm cardigan and watching movies under the covers, while Mr.B slept on a towel on the floor to keep warm.
A tearjerker for me was "One Chance,"  the story of Paul Potts the opera singer who was the first winner of Britain’s Got Talent back in 2007.  Yes, I know I get quite emotional during some of these heart-wrenching movies, but (Spoiler Alert) it all turned out well in the end.
After lunch I ventured outside to film the water rushing down the watercourse beside my home.
You can hear the force of the water and see the large raindrops falling from the sky.

Dare I hope for sunshine tomorrow?

Phew! What a day!

Today it rained all day....tons and tons of raindrops fell all over the island....schools were closed and many places were flooded.

An entire day without sunshine......the water course beside my home was filled with torrents of water gushing downhill removing everything in its path....
Even Mr. BrownBerts was pretty pissed about being indoors all day.

.........and then this evening the rain abated just in time to see this........

 

 In a blaze of glory, the sun won over the skies for a brief moment......

 

....and was gone as quickly as it appeared.

I'm hoping tomorrow will be filled with lots more sunshine.