The Hang is a fascinating instrument! Below, Dante Bucci demonstrates how it is played.

RTFA: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2GaK4S36bYU&feature…

I had the pleasure of playing my friend Ron’s Hang. I got some ideas down on video I’d like to share.

From Wikipedia:

A Hang [haŋ] (pronunciation between the vowel sounds in the word ‘Hot’ and ‘Hungry’) is a melodious percussive steel musical instrument created in Switzerland. It uses some of the same physical principles as a steelpan. That being said, there has been much metallurgical and acoustic research by the makers which have led to significant changes in structure, design, and process. It was the result of many years of research on the steelpan as well as the study of a diverse collection of instruments from around the world; such as gongs, gamelan, ghatam, drums, bells, etc. Udu-like sounds can be produced with the Helmholtz resonance that can occur within the clamped shallow shells. It also has the capacity to ring like a singing bowl. The instrument has sometimes been referred to by owners and others as a hang drum, because it is often played like a drum, its relation to the steel drum, and its popularity with hand drummers. While this is true, there are other ways to coax sound out of a Hang that do not involve ‘drumming’.

Apparently, they’re really expensive… which is too bad, because it seems like a great way to switch out drumming for a different percussive instrument, given that you’re willing to play in a certain key.

I was a little surprised to learn that they were created in Swizerland, because there is a distinctly “eastern” feel to it. Of course, to call this eastern is to run up against the following conundrum:

There’s also a tropical steel drum flavor to it, which might explain how Swizerland came to be the Hang’s birthplace, since it is exactly in the middle of the two regions (as with everything else Swiss).

[UPDATE 2009-01-22]
According to the comment thread on reddit, TonzB says:

I had looked into purchasing one a couple years back, but since there is only one place that hand-makes them… there is quite a lengthy waiting list.

They go for about $2000 USD for a plain one, and from there you can pay more for decorations (paint, etc.)

The catch is that you have to actually fly out there to pick it up once it’s complete. They wont mail it anywhere in the world, and their workshop is up in the swiss alps, accessible by train and car. Once there, you get a tour of the workshop, and you get to meet the people who invented/made your instrument.

Here’s another amazing video demonstrating both generations of the Hang:

A few days ago we meet for the first time at a mini Hang – Out in Münster. Rainer (sazas) play an Integral Hang , Uwe (bongo) also on Integral Hang and I (funky) play a second generation Hang. We had a lot of fun and this improvisation is recorded without we meet before or make music together before. It shows that Hang is a nice universal language. More coming soon!

[/UPDATE]