FEATURES

Every module, every count, every bridge

Backpan is a studio for the handpan player. Each module below is shipped today and accessible from the same browser-based interface: no download, no install, no account. The page is exhaustive on purpose; the home is the short version.

Audio engine

Real handpan samples plus subtle humanization, locked to a single master clock. Built on Tone.js with sample delivery via a private CDN.

  • Hybrid engine: HQ samples (Freepats CC0, recorded handpans) blended with synthesis fallbacks for instant load
  • Per-instrument humanization: small, bounded, stateless velocity and timing jitter: the groove never drifts away from the master clock
  • Master clock + transport: BPM, time signature, play/pause/REC, all 4 tracks rigorously synced
  • Sample delivery via CDN (samples.askaria.xyz), ~3,000+ audio files served as .ogg

Composition tools

Pattern grids, chord progressions, ambient textures: the building blocks of a track, all editable in real time during playback.

  • Step sequencer with editable pattern length per track (4/4 default; 7/8 via the Karsilama flow; 5/4 by editing pattern length)
  • Chord progression module with note-based color system: the same hue for the same scale degree, across every track
  • Atmospheres library: banks of textures and pads with scroll-fade selection
  • 72 chord progressions and 88 chord patterns shipped (rock, bossa, flamenco, African, electronic, meditative)

Practice & live

From bedroom practice to a live sound bath. The same studio, three different layouts.

  • Stage Live: performance-focused view with a Tempo panel and a Harmony panel, distractions trimmed
  • Audio recording: captures all 4 synced tracks (handpan, bass, drone, percussion) into a single audio file
  • Selfie video: record yourself with the visual handpan composited above the live audio (planned for an upcoming release)

Library & sharing

Every composition is a card. Private by default, public on demand, shareable by URL.

  • Composition cards: each piece displayed with a mini-handpan that highlights the chord currently playing
  • Browse / Library: your saved pieces alongside compositions published by other beta testers
  • Share flow, YouTube-style: private by default, share-sheet to publish or send a direct link (the URL itself encodes the patch)
  • Beta feedback collection: opt-in webhook to n8n for capturing user input during the private beta

Bridges to other musicians

If a friend plays guitar or piano, Backpan speaks both languages. The viewers are read-only mirrors of what's happening on the handpan.

  • Guitar viewer: fretboard with finger positions and pattern-synced tablature, no theory required to read along
  • Piano viewer: keyboard display showing the active notes and the current chord shape
  • Direct link sharing: open a friend's composition by URL, the same patch loads on their phone

Instrument families

The handpan has its own dedicated SVG view today. The same studio engine drives 98 sampled instruments in total (kalimba, vibraphone, marimba, mbira, drone synths, bass voicings, percussion kits) and a piece written on handpan replays instantly on any of them.

  • Handpan with custom SVG view, algorithmic layout (any tonic, any scale, 8-21 notes)
  • Cross-instrument cross-play: composition stores notes, not timbres; one tap swaps the sample bank
  • Bass module with 6 voicings (classic, sub, acid, reese, funk, pluck)
  • Drone module: pad and bourdon textures, sustained or rhythmic, follow the chord progression
  • Lead module: melodic line, layered above the chord cycle
  • Percussion: 16 configurable kits + 26 additional percussion samples (world percussion blend)

UI & accessibility

A unified design language across modules. Light editorial Pleiade theme. Every visible string available in 5 languages.

  • Per-module color tokens: handpan amber, lead cyan, perc red, bass violet, chords green, drone teal, consistent across the studio
  • Mood swap system: selected surfaces re-tint with the active palette
  • Multilingual UI in 5 languages (EN, FR, ES, DE, JA), every visible string indexable in every language
  • Mobile-first SVG handpan with touch + pointer support, color-coded notes, ripple feedback on tap

By the numbers

Auto-derived from the production data files at build time, always in sync with what ships in the app.

scales
20
chord progressions
72
chord patterns
88
percussion kits
16
extra percussion samples
26
sampled instruments
98
curated flows
33
melody presets
14
UI languages
5

Supported scales

The list below is pre-configured. Custom scales can also be created from any tonic, with any interval set, between 8 and 21 notes.

Curated musical flows

Each flow combines a scale, a chord progression, a percussion kit and a bass voicing: pick one and the studio is configured for that mood.

  • First Strike
  • First Touch
  • Two Notes
  • The Triad
  • Steady Four
  • Flowing Six
  • Tresillo
  • Still Water
  • Ruins at Dawn
  • Caravan
  • Red Dust
  • Temple Floor
  • Monsoon
  • Salt Flats
  • Undertow
  • Copper Wire
  • Night Market
  • Tidal Drift
  • Ghost Touch
  • Carta
  • Threshold
  • Kopala
  • Karsilama
  • Reverie
  • Mirror Light
  • Canon Garden
  • La Folia
  • Moonlight
  • Morning Prelude
  • Lion Stomp
  • Cherry Drift
  • Ember Dunes
  • Deep Forest

Try it in the beta

Every module above is live for beta testers. Access opens in waves: sign up and we'll send you yours.

Join the beta →