Learn Handpan
Handpanion Learning brings together trusted handpan learning resources in one place, including teachers, practice tools, online courses, memberships, workshops and retreats.
Curated from within the handpan community, this page helps players find useful routes into learning — whether they are just starting out, looking for structured lessons, exploring online tools, or wanting to connect with real-world workshops and group learning experiences.
Practice Tools
Handpan Chordbook
Handpan Chordbook is an online learning platform built around Rosie Bergonzi’s PANScript visual notation system, designed to help players learn full songs on their own instrument. After selecting a song and choosing your handpan model and tuning, the site adapts the tabs to your layout. This makes it easier to learn repertoire, understand chord progressions visually, and connect what you hear with what you play.
HandPanPal
Handpan Pal is a guided play-along platform created by Alexander Mercks, built around the idea that players learn best by playing in real time. Each session walks through chord progressions with a clear visual guide and structured timing, allowing focus on feel, movement and musical flow rather than notation. It’s designed to build confidence through repetition, rhythm and shared musical experience.
"For players who prefer flowing through chord progressions rather than memorising patterns, this approach feels natural and musical. Playing alongside a guiding musician makes harmony something you experience rather than analyse."
NotePan
Notepan is a dedicated handpan notation and tablature editor for Mac and Windows, available as downloadable desktop software for documenting, learning and sharing handpan music. In addition to its writing and playback features, it includes a large online library of well-known pieces from established players, allowing users to practise recognised repertoire within the same system. It is also integrated into selected structured learning platforms, including the Malte Marten Method and Master The Handpan courses.
Notepan becomes most useful when playing moves into repertoire or composition. It provides a reliable way to save ideas and learn recognised pieces accurately, adding structure without replacing ear development.
Handpanion discount: Use code HPN10 for 10% off Notepan
Find a Teacher
Ricky Hillson
Ricky offers 1-to-1 online handpan lessons for players on any scale, with sessions designed to meet students where they are, introduce new skills, and help shape the next stage of their musical journey. This Handpanion listing is for Ricky’s online lesson, while in-person teaching may also be available through his own website.
Handpan Joe
Joe offers 1-to-1 handpan lessons in Pembrokeshire for beginners and developing players looking for personal guidance and direct feedback. For those wanting to continue beyond in-person teaching, he also offers structured online courses through his own website.
Richard Mawby
Richard Mawby discovered the handpan in August 2024 and quickly immersed himself in the instrument, developing into a confident player, performer, and teacher. With a background in teaching through foraging and wild food, alongside early musical roots in piano, he now shares his passion for the handpan as a Malte Marten Method affiliate teacher, helping others begin their own journey with the instrument.
Courses & Memberships
Master the Handpan
One of the leading online resources for learning handpan, bringing together structured courses, membership support and teaching from some of the best-known players in the world. With learning across different skill levels, styles and musical interests — including handpan and tongue drum study — it offers a broad and well-developed platform for players who want expert guidance in one place.
“What sets this platform apart is the sheer breadth of teaching gathered in one place. With courses from some of the most respected names in the handpan world, it gives players access to a wide range of approaches, styles and ideas within a single learning platform.”
Amy Naylor - Handpan Connect
A Patreon-based membership built around regular learning, shared practice and a close-knit handpan community. Through Handpan Connect, Amy Naylor offers a monthly practice calendar, WhatsApp group access, Handpanuary materials and, at higher tiers, weekly tutorial content with notation — creating a more personal and ongoing way to learn.
“What makes this membership special is the way learning and community sit side by side. Players can follow Amy’s ideas, share progress, receive feedback, and stay motivated through regular connection with others in the group, with projects like Handpanuary adding extra energy at certain times of year.”
Mark Perry - Handpan Tutorials
A new online handpan learning platform by UK musician Mark Perry, built around beginner-friendly teaching, step-by-step lessons and a clear musical approach. The academy includes full courses, community access and scale-specific learning, making it an approachable place for players to begin and build confidence.
“What impressed us is how easy the course is to follow. The lesson layout, structure and production are all very well done, making it a strong place for beginners to start.”
London Handpan Academy – The Core Handpan Method
A structured online handpan course by James Hunter Crossley of London Handpan Academy, designed for beginners and developing players who want a clear route into the instrument. The course includes 60 step-by-step lessons covering foundations, rhythm, melody, harmony, songs, improvisation and meditative playing, with lifetime access and simple number-based notation. It is taught on a D Kurd handpan, though many of the ideas can transfer to other scales.
“This is a strong fit for players who want proper structure rather than just picking up random patterns online. James teaches in a calm, accessible way, and the course is especially useful for beginners, new D Kurd players, or anyone who wants to build confidence, flow and musical understanding from the ground up.”
Group Workshops & Retreats
London Handpan Academy
London Handpan Academy offers beginner-friendly handpan lessons in London for complete beginners and improvers alike. Sessions are designed to introduce players to melody, rhythm, and harmony in a clear, accessible way, with instruments provided and no prior musical experience required.
The experience is clearly designed to feel relaxed and unintimidating from the start, with instruments provided. A gentle step-by-step introduction for people coming to the handpan for the first time.
Handpan Academy Bristol
Located at Meridian HQ in central Bristol, Handpan Academy Bristol offers courses and lessons for handpan players and enthusiasts of all levels. Open since 2020, it provides a real-world learning environment where people can develop their playing and explore the instrument in the very place where it is made.
Handpanion comment:
Learning at Meridian HQ, in small groups and on beautifully made instruments, makes this feel like a genuinely immersive and welcoming in-person experience. Being able to see how the handpans are made adds another layer to the day that most learning environments simply do not offer.
Pankind
Pankind is a handpan-based wellbeing and education project that uses the instrument as a tool for connection, expression, and emotional support. Founded in 2019 by Lyndon Forster and developed under We Need Music CIC, it offers workshops, retreats, and handpan experiences across a wide range of settings, including schools, care environments, and wellbeing-focused spaces.
Learning outdoors, surrounded by woodland and nature, gives Pankind a very different feel from a more traditional academy setting and makes the whole experience feel calmer, more spacious, and more reflective.
“We’ve worked closely with Rosie on related learning resources, and her chord-based approach is consistent and well thought through. For players who connect with PANScript, this platform gives them a clear and reliable way to learn songs properly.”