Notepan Review: Handpan Tabs, Plus a Handpan App for Your Phone
If you have searched for handpan tabs, you have probably come across Notepan. It is one of the best places on the web to learn songs from handpan tablature, and we are fans. Here is what Notepan does brilliantly, and how Panora fills the gap it leaves: a real, playable handpan and composer that lives on your phone.
What is Notepan?
Notepan calls itself the home of handpan tablatures, and it earns the title. It is a desktop app built by Maxence, a handpan player who started out transcribing videos into spreadsheets before turning the idea into proper software. Today Notepan has thousands of users around the world and a growing library of handpan tabs written by its team and community.
What Notepan does really well
- A big library of handpan tabs. More than 400 tablatures, filterable by scale, difficulty, artist and category. If a popular handpan song exists, there is a good chance someone has tabbed it.
- Smart transposition. Tell Notepan which handpan you own and it converts a tab to your notes, finding the closest match when a perfect transposition is not possible. This is a genuinely clever feature.
- A serious tab editor. Time signatures, tempo changes, subdivisions, sections, annotations and note nuances. You can write down your own songs and export them as PDF.
- A model of your own instrument. Notepan builds a virtual version of your handpan with its exact notes and layout, and shows which chords it can play.
- Beyond the handpan. It also works with Neotone, RAV Vast and other tongue drums.
- Easy notation. You do not need music theory to read its tabs.
If your goal is to learn a specific song note for note on a steel handpan you already own, Notepan is an excellent tool.
Where Panora comes in
Notepan is built around reading and writing tablature at your desk. At the time of writing it runs on Windows and macOS, with mobile and tablet versions still in development. Panora is built around a different moment: when you want to play, right now, wherever you are, without a steel instrument nearby.
A handpan you can play, not just read
Panora is a virtual handpan with real recorded notes. Tap the ding and the tone fields and you hear a warm, singing handpan, plus knock and slap sounds for percussion. You do not need to own a handpan at all. You can even try it right now in your browser on our home page.
50 handpan scales in one instrument
A real handpan is tuned to one scale. In Panora you can switch between 50 handpan scales with a tap, from D Kurd and D minor to brighter and more exotic tunings. It is the quickest way to hear what a scale sounds like before you spend money on a real instrument.
Compose and loop on the go
Panora includes a compose grid with tempo in BPM, time signatures, beats and subdivisions. Record a pattern straight from the handpan, loop it and layer ideas on top. Where a tab editor writes music down, Panora lets you hear your idea come together as you build it.
Made for your phone
- Lock screen playback. Your song keeps playing with the screen locked, perfect for meditation or practising along.
- Record for social media. Full screen mode gives you a 3-second countdown so you can capture your playing.
- Haptics. Feel every note with light or medium vibration, like tapping real steel.
- No sign-up. Open the app and play. Your songs can be backed up to your own iCloud Drive.
- Big-screen ready. On the foldable iPhone Duo, Panora puts the handpan and the sequencer side by side.
Notepan and Panora at a glance
| Notepan | Panora | |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | Learning songs from handpan tabs | Playing, meditating and composing on your phone |
| Platforms | Windows and macOS (mobile in development) | App Store, Google Play coming soon |
| Need a real handpan? | Ideal if you own one | No, the handpan is in the app |
| Scales | Any scale, modelled on your instrument | 50 playable handpan scales |
| Sound | Playback to hear tabs | Real recorded notes, knock and slap |
| Composing | Tablature editor with PDF export | Compose grid with recording and loops |
| Account | Account with cloud sync | No sign-up needed |
Use them together
The best part is that you do not have to choose. A workflow we love:
- Find a song you like in Notepan's handpan tab library.
- Open Panora on your phone, pick the same scale and practise the pattern anywhere: on the sofa, on the train, in bed with headphones.
- Loop the part you are learning in Panora's compose grid and play along until it sits under your fingers.
- When an idea of your own appears, sketch it in Panora first and write it down properly later.
Notepan FAQ
Is there a Notepan app for iPhone or Android?
At the time of writing, Notepan is available for Windows and macOS, and its team says mobile and tablet versions are in development. If you want a handpan on your phone today, Panora is a virtual handpan app on the App Store.
Do I need a handpan to use Notepan?
Notepan shines when you own a handpan or tongue drum, because it adapts tabs to your instrument. If you do not own one yet, Panora lets you play 50 scales on your phone and find the sound you love first.
Is Notepan free?
Notepan has a free plan with selected tabs and its handpan tools, and new accounts get a Premium trial. Check notepan.fr for current pricing.
Panora is not affiliated with Notepan. Details about Notepan are based on its public website as of October 2026.