DESCRIPTION:
Pantheon Steel Halo Cirrus in the Aqrab tuning, with an Inpex (inset center note), D# - F# A# B C# D# E F# G, demonstrated by Kyle Cox (Halo Maker).

For best audio quality, watch at 480p or higher.

Aqrab is an enigmatic and angular altered minor mode, with a rare flatted fourth degree that can be voiced as a major third. The presence of both major and minor thirds lends a haunting ambiguity to the tuning's mood. Otherwise, Aqrab is a Kurd-like minor which allows rooting around both D# minor and relative F# major triads.

Aqrab joins a small handful of Halo sound models investigating night raga modes and related altered scales from the Middle East, including Mysorean and Al Thuban. With that in mind was named Aqrab, after the scorpion of the Zodiac.


About the Inpex (inset center note):

This is a design we we are exploring enthusiastically right now.

Though it looks (and at first,feels!) strange to players used to a conventional center dome, it offers some real advantages. The overall timbre of the instrument is distinctly clarified and the entire range feels 'unified.'

While this takes some getting used to, it is a brand new experience for a handpan player -- a wonderful new option to explore.