Co-improvisation with Mai3ya (Violin & Handpan Duo)

On a serendipidous fall evening, I was just finishing up a gig at a local community center. As I was leaving the venue, I happened to hear some beautiful music in the courtyard. Before I knew it, I had already taken my violin out, and was jamming in the dark with a masterful handpan musician who goes by Mai3ya as his artist handle.

We connected, and recorded a few jam sessions. It was super low key, and I thoroughly enjoyed improvising within the sound of the handpan.

While both violin and handpan occupy overlapping upper-mid frequency bands, their timbres are shaped by different overtone structures—bowed harmonic series versus tuned percussive partials. This contrast allows them to blend without masking, producing a soundscape where the handpan’s low-frequency fundamentals anchor the texture and the violin’s sustained highs add transient-rich detail.