Mysterious and meditative, the Kurd scale is among the most popular Hand Pan Scales ever made as it is basically a full minor scale. It was first popularized on Handpans by Victor Levinson, who builds the SPB. As one of the earliest builders, he crafted mostly D Kurd instruments for numerous years and first used the name “Kurd” to refer to his instruments in D Minor. The scale variation was greatly welcomed at a time when D Minor instruments were very common due to Panart production of the “Integral” Hang®, which was a hexatonic variation of D Minor. Numerous early viral videos by Hang Massive, Daniel Waples, and David Swarup also helped the popularity of D Minor Handpans.
The name “Kurd” comes from Arabic music and is short for Kurd Maqam, where “Maqam” is synonymous with “scale”.
The scale has been further popularized by Sam Maher, in his viral video of a C# Kurd, which has been also referred to as “Annaziska”.
As a full diatonic minor, it is also sometimes referred to as Aeolian mode in western music theory. This “natural minor” offers everything a minor scale can offer. It can be mysterious and meditative, but also dark and full of tension or bright, positive and uplifting depending on which chords are played. This leads to great diversity and many possibilities to explore.
We offer the Kurd Scale in C#, D, E, and F#.
A number of bottom note options are also available for each. When ordering, look under your desired center note, then “Minor” scale variations for these layouts. You can then add additional bottom notes to your order.
Please Contact us if you have any questions.
In Stock and Custom Order Handpans for sale
C# Minor – Kurd (also called “Annaziska“)
C#/ G#, A, B, C#, D#, E, F#, G#
D Minor – Kurd
D/ A, Bb, C, D, E, F, G, A
E Minor – Kurd
B, C, D, E, F, G, A, B
F# Minor – Kurd (Not yet built)
F#/ C#, D, E, F#, G#, A, B, C#
