Roland digitize the 20th century's "only new instrument"

Roland digitize the 20th century’s “only new instrument”

By Jacca-RouteNoteJune 26, 20255 mins read

Image credit: Roland

Roland’s new electronic instrument transforms the uniquely magical sound of the steel pan drum into a unit for digital finger taps.

The United Nations describe steel pan drums as the “only new instrument invented in the 20th century” (presumably they mean acoustic…). Well, Roland’s new instrument takes the unique instrument and strips away the acoustic sound for digital freedom that retains the feel of the original.

Roland’s Mood Pan is a digital handpan drum, offering a digital set of sounds to choose from. The instrument will still be played the same way, with touch sensitive pads that are tapped to produce sound. Roland promise expressive sound to allow for the flexibility provided by touch velocity on the original instrument.

The digital element allows users to choose between a number of sounds, including handpan, tongue drum, gamelan, singing bowl, and more. Users can then choose between tuning styles, selecting scales that mean all notes work together, which Roland say allows the Mood Pan to “be enjoyed by everyone, with no experience or special technique necessary”.

There are nine pads that can be tapped and uses expressive versatility to recognise palm slides and tweak the sound accordingly. The Mood Pan has an onboard speaker to play with traditional resonance, but for players wanting to keep it personal there is a headphone input.

The Mood Pan has built-in controls for switching between 12 tuning styles and the tone selections. There is also a background music selection for environmental nature sounds, drones from soft synthesizers, and digeridoo. The Mood Pan Plus app lets users go in and customise sounds as well as adding additional sounds into four user spots.

Roland say: “The simple design and intuitive layout require no previous musical skills to play, making it easy to explore serene sonic textures through its expressive pads. Simply place it in your lap and tap the pads to float away on a cloud of calm and soothing tonalities.”