Handpan notes on piano keys: D Kurd 10 and E Amara 20

D Kurd 10 or E Amara 20: where should I start?

If you own a handpan, start with the configuration that matches its actual pitch list, not just its name. Without an instrument, D Kurd 10 matches our first-phrase exercise using A3 and C4. You can also explore E Amara 20: try two or three notes without memorizing all twenty.

One C4, different labels

D Kurd 10：position 3 · Jianpu 5 = C4
E Amara 20：position 15 · Jianpu 4 = C4

The pitch identity C4 stays the same. Its location and notation reference change. Sound packs may sound different, so this compares pitch and position, not the quality of physical handpan materials.

Start safely

1. Save existing work first. Open Create from Home and confirm that the exercise contains no notes.
2. Tap the pink scale name on the handpan and choose an available sound under the desired configuration. Sound-pack names and access depend on your app.
3. Use the lower-right display toggle until pitch names such as A3 and C4 appear. Without selecting a grid cell, tap C4 to listen. To enter it, select a cell first, then tap the tone field.
4. After entering your exercise, save it explicitly. Changing the scale of an empty work alone does not mean a composition has been saved.

Why can’t I switch with notes present? The current app blocks a different scale when notes are present and asks for notes to be cleared. This is a restriction, not automatic transposition. Do not clear a piece you want to keep just to experiment; save it and start a separate empty exercise.

Why can’t every score be copied across?

• Missing pitches: D Kurd has Bb3 and F4, absent from this E Amara. E Amara has B3 and F#4, absent from D Kurd. These are different pitches, not interchangeable spellings.
• Range: E Amara reaches below D Kurd’s D3 to C3 and above C5 to A5. An octave shift changes the register of the melody.
• Positions: position 1 is A3 on one and B3 on the other. Copying position numbers does not preserve the melody. Compare pitch names with octave numbers, then timing.

When a note is missing, check its octave first. Then choose another exercise or deliberately adapt the phrase and listen again. Substituting a pitch makes a new musical choice; it does not preserve the original unchanged.

Enable sound below and locate C4 in each diagram · Enter your first phrase in the grid

Three labels for one sound

A position number identifies an area in the current app layout. A pitch name identifies a sound, such as A3. Jianpu is numbered relative to a chosen 1. On D Kurd, position 1 plays A3, written as Jianpu 3. Position 1 and Jianpu 1 are different labels.

Why F3=1 and G3=1?

These diagrams follow TideTone’s notation reference: undotted 1 is F3 for D Kurd, and G3 for E Amara. This does not change the central note. D Kurd’s Ding is D3; E Amara’s Ding is E3. Both are written as 6 with one dot below in their respective references. F3 is a notation reference, not an available note on this D Kurd.

Octave dots and pitch numbers

One dot above a Jianpu digit means one octave above its undotted version; one below means one octave below. Two above mean two octaves up. In A3 and A4, the final number identifies the octave of the named pitch. Do not confuse this octave number with an app position or a Jianpu digit.

D Kurd 10

Download the complete chart (PNG) · SVG

E Amara 20

Download the complete chart (PNG) · SVG

Are black keys more advanced?

No. They are part of the keyboard layout. D Kurd uses Bb3: B lowered by a semitone. E Amara uses F#3, F#4 and F#5: F raised by a semitone in each octave. With these notation references, Bb is degree 4 and F# is degree 7; they do not need an extra accidental each time. Unhighlighted keys are absent from the selected handpan.

Try just three notes in the app

On D Kurd, find position 1 (A3), position 2 (Bb3), then position 6 (F4). Their Jianpu labels are 3, 4 and 1 with one dot above. On E Amara, try position 1 (B3), position 4 (F#4) and position 11 (G5): 3, 7 and 1 with two dots above. Listen slowly; a finished tune is not required.

Why do larger position numbers include low notes?

Positions are not a complete ascending pitch order. E Amara position 13 is D3, 16 is C3 and 19 is C5. The app displays these extended notes around the outside. D stands for Ding, not necessarily the pitch D. Check your maker’s physical layout; the app’s outer ring does not specify which notes are on a physical top shell.

Scope of these diagrams

Redrawn from the supplied reference charts and checked against TideTone’s scale, position and notation definitions. These are the app’s configurations, not universal specifications for every similarly named handpan.