r/toptalent • u/Bubbly_Wall_908 • Dec 30 '25
10 year old handpan musician Sprites freestyling on her instrument (source link in description)
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u/goose_10 Dec 30 '25
Dope. This is one of those instruments that I understand exactly how they work, but making flowing music out of them seems out of this world!
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u/Ongr Dec 30 '25
As long as you have a sense of rhythm, this instrument is not that hard to play. There are literally no wrong notes because these things are tuned to a fixed scale. Having said that, it might take a little while to get the 'hang' of it, and be as comfortable as this girl.
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u/Booch138 Dec 30 '25
There is the whole price-tag part as well. Thatās whatās halted me from ever getting one and unfortunately I donāt know anyone with one. Theyāre super cool though from my limited experience with them.
That being said, cursory pricing shows mass-produced ones literally 1/5th of the normal costs. I bet the quality is garbage but at least there is something. What an incredibly special instrument <33
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u/Whythehellnot_wecan Dec 30 '25
Definitely fun but gets repetitive. I have a couple that my dad had but he passed. We both played guitar and bass and he picked these up for fun. I am sure they are not thousands dollar ones or whatever but do very sound nice for sure. I can only play for a couple few minutes at a time but it does provide a sense of zen for sure.
TLDR: couple hundred will get you something thatās cool if youāre into it. Fun toy. This girl has talent.
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u/Booch138 Dec 30 '25
Oh absolutely can get repetitive. After this video my brother and I were talking about going halves on a cheap one XD this gal is IMMENSELY talented, Iāve had that lil melody in my head all morning š„°š¶
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u/Howamidriving27 Dec 30 '25
These things sound beautiful, but they definitely seem like something I would play for like a week and then never touch again.
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u/dwankyl_yoakam Dec 30 '25
They are extremely limited given the fixed scale and often have wonky intonation if not tuned properly. It's a fun instrument to have around to mess with but there's a reason you never really hear of professional hang drummers lol. I'm sure there are exceptions that I haven't heard of.
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u/OvalDead Dec 30 '25
Most people have no idea you can do that on a piano if you just stick to the white keys.
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u/kdjfsk Dec 30 '25
Just the black keys is an even safer pentatonic scale.
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u/Dustin- Dec 30 '25
Yep. Play the black keys around F# and anything you play will sound good and like a "song" as long as you finish on F#.
Also works with E flat if you want to mess around in a minor key.
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u/_iscariot_ Dec 30 '25
I play guitar, bass, dabbled in drums. Piano/keyboard sounds like a fucking mess when I touch it.
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u/metamet Dec 30 '25
Just sit down and play C maj scale on just the white keys. Remember each key apart is an interval, so it's easy to play a 1-3-5 chord.
Then play B maj, which is all the black keys and the E and B white keys. Same idea there.
It'll start feeling natural in no time.
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u/LostintheAlone Dec 30 '25
I could listen for hours.
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u/Bubbly_Wall_908 Dec 30 '25
I kind of did. I just kept going through all the posts up on her IG. She plays with her dad too but I haven't gone through his IG yet.
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Dec 30 '25
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u/StayBronzeFonz Dec 30 '25
Kate Stone is. I found her music via reddit many years ago.
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u/jonnydiamonds360 Dec 30 '25
Is Kate Stone related to Sprites?
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Dec 30 '25 edited Aug 17 '26
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u/StayBronzeFonz Dec 30 '25
Whoa! I didnāt realize that. Thanks for pointing it out.
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Dec 30 '25 edited Aug 17 '26
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u/Infamous-Composer448 Dec 30 '25
Dang, you got me as well, I had pulled up her Spotify to listen and was like, "she has 3 albums and the third one is called Empty Spaces, how did Sprites come from that.....hmm there must be some albums that aren't on Spotify or something"
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u/Unexpected_Muffin Dec 30 '25
Everyone upvoting this (āthisā being the comment Iām replying to), please upvote the original comment so that itās higher than this and gets ingested.
edit: clarity
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u/s1kreddit Dec 30 '25
Interesting. I had no idea that Kate Stone is the mother of Sprites. Sprites is actually named after Kateās third album. If you check the liner notes, youāll understand.
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u/Cosmoskirin123 Dec 30 '25
Should give "Urban" by Kate Stone a listen if you haven't already.
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u/Ungarmax21 Dec 30 '25
Anybody else hear "corridors of time" from chrono trigger?
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u/sshwifty Dec 30 '25
She is the daughter of The Fat Rat, who has made some of the best license free video game and movie music.
https://thefatrat.fandom.com/wiki/Sprites
She can totally hold her own though.
I only know this because I was in the top percents on Spotify for the Fat Rat and he mentioned her upcoming album lol
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u/Epidantrix Dec 30 '25
Pretty sure he had her do vocals on at least one of his recent songs!
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u/TheLurkingShade Dec 30 '25
Yeah, she did the vocals for Ray Tracer.
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u/mrfreeeeze Dec 30 '25
She will make a groovy kayak instructor someday.
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u/YerMomsClamChowder Dec 30 '25
She 100% has chill hippy parents.Ā I guarantee she was birthed with the help of crystals.Ā Ā
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u/Careless-Caramel-997 Dec 30 '25
Lucky for her she didnāt even have to go to Burning Man to get her first handpan drum
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u/Dave_ld013 Dec 30 '25
This is awesome. For folks discovering this instrument for the first time I highly recommend checking out Malte Marten on Youtube.
Here's a link of one of the videos. I use it to calm my baby: https://youtu.be/NSKxvLWqyOY?si=Zdm6otjUUroasg_K
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u/deviblues Dec 30 '25
Hard to believe this is the real audio
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u/crumble-bee Cookies x6 Dec 30 '25
I play these.
This is the real audio. Theyāre very simple to play if you have a basic grasp of percussion. The ball in the centre is providing the low pitched bass notes you can hear, the patter pitter-sounds are hands on the none-note metal, and the pingy pongy high notes are the individual hammered notes.
These instruments are sort like the super expensive, percussion version of harmonica in that theyāre tuned quite specifically, itās not like a piano, you can basically play them anywhere and in any variation of notes and they all work together. As such itās very easy to look like you can play them - I play hand percussion and pretty much was able to just pick one of these up and play them without any training at all.
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Dec 30 '25
What is that instrument called, I think ima have to buy one.
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u/crumble-bee Cookies x6 Dec 30 '25
Itās called a hang drum. They are incredibly expensive. They used to be made by one person but now thereās hundreds of knock offs
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Dec 30 '25
Damn you weren't kidding, the ones I found ranged from 1200-5000 USD
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u/crumble-bee Cookies x6 Dec 30 '25
Yep! The one sheās playing is about 1250.
You can find them for 399-699 on eBay or if you want a mass manufactured one to play on Amazon do them for 250 but Iād imagine theyāre good for a bit will likely lose tuning quickly
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u/ErraticDragon Dec 30 '25
OP called it a "handpan" in the post title, aka "handpan drum".
This specific one looks like a Hang, which is properly a brand name, AFAICT: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hang_(instrument)
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u/eatmyshorzz Dec 30 '25
This is real. I have witnessed people playing like this in real life.
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u/Entire_Cut_6553 Dec 30 '25
it almost sounds like 2 instruments being played at the same time, like a piano or something in the bg other than this being slappd in the foreground.
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u/MildlyAgitatedBovine Dec 30 '25
For both of these and steel drums, there are only specific sections to hit and produce pitch. The rest will either be a funky clang or some sort of non-pitched metallic noise.
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u/Bubbly_Wall_908 Dec 30 '25
I had never heard of this instrument before but yes, this is real.
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u/Helen___Keller_ Dec 30 '25
It totally is. One of my friends from highschool started a business making his own. It's actually amazing how they sound. Incredibly relaxing at least for me. Kinda puts me in a trance.
Much love <3
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u/SpiderDijonJr Dec 30 '25
Thereās definitely something going on here. I feel itās pretty obvious after watching some other artists play the same instrument.
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u/ArtisticRollerSkater Dec 30 '25
The melody doesn't seem to come from her hands. She's playing the rhythm and someone else is playing the melody. Is that what you're referring to? That's what I'm seeing.
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u/throwaway19293883 Dec 30 '25
I thought so too but it seems like there is a slight desync of the audio and video. Once I figured that out it did seem to line up and appear legit
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Dec 30 '25
I'm fairly certain that hitting anything in any order will sound good on a hand pan instrument.Ā
What gets me is the good rhythms, that's good talent.Ā
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u/ernestryles Dec 30 '25
Link to the handpan sheās playing for those interested. Itās a very good instrument and comes with a price that reflects that.
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u/Sudden_Idea9384 Dec 30 '25
I have zero musical ability and Iāve used one of these and it makes me sounds great.
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u/Codex_Absurdum Dec 30 '25
It's called a hang)
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u/BatMannequin Dec 30 '25
Originally yes, but the original creators can't keep up with demand and are being kinda nasty about patents. So people came up with a similar but legally distinct new thing called a hand pan. They're easier to make, and much cheaper because anyone can make them without getting sued.
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u/EnHemligKonto Dec 30 '25 edited Dec 31 '25
Is it true toning, not sure about the terminology here. Like is it equal temperament like a piano? Are there a bunch of these in different keys?
edit: typo
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u/MisterBowTies Dec 30 '25
My understanding is that they are diatonic, so there are essentially no wrong notes. That doesn't mean she isn't talented.
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u/GentlemenHODL Dec 30 '25
Yes it has a scale but much more limited than a piano just seven to nine notes. Just Google hand pan scale to learn more.
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u/dikicker Dec 30 '25
It's the only reason I've never been able to justify the cost of buying one, I feel like I'd lose interest too quickly, like I've got a buddy with one and it's super fun for 20 minutes, but there's only so much you can do with it. I think he paid like $700/800 for it
Those 20 minutes are awesome though
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u/Additional_Egg7024 Dec 31 '25
Amazing and now I know I never need to buy one and try to do this as sheās got it covered
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Dec 30 '25
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u/Im_not_smelling_that Dec 30 '25
This is one of the coolest things I've seen a 10year old do. I'd be amazed even if it was an adult.
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u/spookyspritebottle Dec 30 '25
I need this on a track so i can put it on my playlist
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u/Cynical68 Dec 31 '25
Put that on a loop and I might have the best sleep of my night. That was incredible. She should be very proud of her skillĀ
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u/QuothTheRavenMore Dec 31 '25
Absolutely top talent. The crazy part too is that instrument is expensive as heck!!
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u/InternalDirt8519 Dec 31 '25
Everyone is chatting about the drum ā¦ this 10 year old has amazing rhythm!
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u/Up_All_Nite Dec 31 '25
I just warped back to Wicks-N-Sticks at the mall. I can almost smell the candles.
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u/Honda_TypeR Dec 31 '25
Hopefully in 10 years she doesnāt end at Burning man dressed like a human spark plug with a nickname like āDark Amethystā
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u/StrongIPA Dec 30 '25
I love her "guitar face" she makes about 10 seconds in when she's really feelin' it. Awesome. (Handpan face?)
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u/DigitalDustOne Dec 30 '25
Fun fact: the handpan is a very young instrument, first models got sold in 2007.
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u/ErosView Dec 30 '25
I think freestyle means something different in your language.
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Dec 30 '25
This is what I wanna hear as I'm bleeding out on the streets contemplating my last moments
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u/Sensitive_Ad_1271 Dec 30 '25
Does anyone know of a spotify station I could look for with music like this? This would be great to fall asleep to, my eyes started closing after 10 seconds.
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u/DIABLO258 Dec 30 '25
Makes me wish I had parents who had talent with a musical instrument and sat with me to play everyday
Instead they just yelled at each other lol
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u/GWindborn Dec 30 '25
I mean, my 9 year old daughter takes her own dishes to the sink sometimes.. So that's cool..
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u/afn45181 Dec 30 '25
Man I want to get this instrument and put a robot next to it for endless music!!!!!
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u/Particular-Owl-5997 Dec 30 '25
I have an overwhelming desire to now go on a morale crusade, roundhouse kicking people and doing the the splits.
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u/hoosierowls Dec 31 '25
Would love to see her cover a couple of Purity Ring beats. Obedear came to mind.
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u/Affectionate_Big_463 Dec 31 '25
Hell yeah! I always wanted one of these and wasn't allowed to as a kid ("learn piano/viola first, then we'll see" š¤£) and haven't gotten around to it as an adult. I live vicariously, she seems to love it ā¤ļø good for her!
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u/Either-Blacksmith-17 Dec 31 '25
Dang she got me wanting to learn how to play that instrument š¤Æš«”
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u/Syphilitic_Marmoset Dec 31 '25
She is legitimately better than every adult I've seen play one of these.
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u/Iskra_Handpans Dec 31 '25
Regarding the instrument being played......
I've been in this industry for about 13 years, so let me share a bit and clear up some wrong information being posted here.
Many are asking what the instrument is. It is called a "Handpan". I've been building these instruments since 2013, but the original version of the handpan was the "Hang" built by PANArt starting around the year 2000.
Since "Hang" is a registered trademark of PANArt, other builders such as myself could not call them "Hang" or anything similar. PANArt is incredibly litigious.
A Handpan is inspired by its parent, the Steelpan from Trinidad and Tobago. These are commonly called "Jamaican steel drums", though they never came from Jamaica. The people of Trinidad and Tobago are the originators of the steelpan.
Effectively, a handpan is sort of an upside down steelpan, though there are significant differences in the note structure, steel composition, and tuning. Obviously, a handpan is played with the hands, and a steelpan is played with mallets.
Handpans are usually tuned to a specific mode; in other words, only notes that are harmonic with each other, as opposed to a fully chromatic tuned instrument such as a piano (which has all of the western musical notes on it). This means there are really no 'wrong' notes in most cases. The selection of notes is known as a 'sound model' or 'scale'. Different sound models evoke different musical moods; some more happy and bright, others darker and mysterious. Another basic way to think about sound models would be like only taking the black keys from a piano and tuning the handpan notes to them.
The thing I love most about the instrument is it brings the power of music improvisation to those who have no musical training at all. While I can play simple music on a piano, I definitely cannot improvise on it. The handpan, however, opens that door of free flowing improvisation for me.
Hopefully that clears some things up!
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u/Paelidore Dec 31 '25
Heck yeah. This is the kind of Reddit I like to see! Kickin' butt on that handpan!
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u/grand-man Jan 01 '26
This is how I dream kids in the future will spend their spare time doingšš¾
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u/ogcanuckamerican Dec 30 '25
Sounds like an ambient music track from Brian Eno.