{"id":105036,"date":"2025-06-26T14:43:12","date_gmt":"2025-06-26T13:43:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/?p=105036"},"modified":"2025-06-26T14:43:16","modified_gmt":"2025-06-26T13:43:16","slug":"roland-digitize-the-20th-centurys-only-new-instrument","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/roland-digitize-the-20th-centurys-only-new-instrument\/","title":{"rendered":"Roland digitize the 20th century&#8217;s &#8220;only new instrument&#8221;"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><em>Image credit: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=qUEBqxv7i5o\">Roland<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 style=\"user-select: auto;\"><span style=\"color: #3366ff; user-select: auto;\">Roland&#8217;s new electronic instrument transforms the uniquely magical sound of the steel pan drum into a unit for digital finger taps.<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.un.org\/ungifts\/steel-pans\">United Nations describe steel pan drums<\/a> as the &#8220;only new instrument invented in the 20th century&#8221; (presumably they mean acoustic&#8230;). Well, Roland&#8217;s new instrument takes the unique instrument and strips away the acoustic sound for digital freedom that retains the feel of the original.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Roland&#8217;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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"\u96fb\u5b50\u30cf\u30f3\u30c9\u30fb\u30d1\u30fc\u30ab\u30c3\u30b7\u30e7\u30f3Roland Mood Pan\" width=\"720\" height=\"405\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/qUEBqxv7i5o?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>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 &#8220;be enjoyed by everyone, with no experience or special technique necessary&#8221;.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>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. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"alignleft is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/static.roland.com\/assets\/images\/products\/gallery\/mood_pan_mn-10_app_gal.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"312\" height=\"188\"\/><figcaption>Image credit: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.roland.com\/global\/products\/mood_pan_mn-10\/features\/\">Roland<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Roland say: &#8220;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.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Roland Mood Pan\u97f3\u8272\u7d39\u4ecb\" width=\"720\" height=\"405\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/mcwUKJT4U6Q?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><strong>The Roland Mood Pan costs $600 and is available to order, with shipments starting in a few weeks.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Roland&#8217;s new electronic instrument transforms the uniquely magical sound of the steel pan drum into a unit for digital finger taps.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":105037,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[143,8879],"tags":[15661],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v18.4.1 - 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