Mumi and the Handpan: A Magical Musical Encounter

Have you recently heard one of the musical performances of an artist named Mumi with one or more handpans? Would you like to know more about this incredibly talented Italian percussionist? What path led her to becoming one of the world’s top hang drum players?

I’m especially fond of Mumi’s covers and melodies, and for more than five years now, I’ve been regularly checking her social media and website to keep up with what she’s doing. So, I can share everything I’ve learned about Mumi.

In this short article, you’ll learn more about:

• How Mumi discovered the handpan
• The songs that launched her career as a professional musician

That way, you can get a closer look at this percussionist who amazes and delights her community with consistently precise, beautifully melodic musical performances.

Now, let’s dive into the details of Mumi’s life.

What’s Mumi’s background as a handpan player?

Mumi, whose real name is Emma Grassia, is an Italian musician and singer born in Milan in 1990. She started her musical journey very young, at age 5. She first trained in classical piano and pursued music studies. In her teenage years, she also became interested in opera singing, bass, and guitar. It wasn’t until 2010 that Mumi first encountered the handpan, which, in her own words, “radically changed her life.” From that moment on, she focused mainly on mastering this percussion instrument, to the point that she’s now both a talented teacher and performer.

A few years later, Mumi began showcasing her talent as a street musician with her Hang. She started out in Milan before taking her music to other cities across Italy. With a passion for travel, she also played in the streets of Reykjavík, Paris, Lisbon, and even Melbourne, Australia. At the same time, she shifted her academic focus to architecture. Soon after, she trained as a singer and spent three years as the lead soprano in an opera choir.

With the skills she developed on the handpan, Mumi performed at several festivals, including Handpan Festival France in 2014, the Milano Handpan Festival in 2015, HangOut in the United States in 2017, and Singading in Spain in 2018. At these gatherings, she met other musicians who would go on to become major names in the handpan world, such as David Charrier, with whom she composed several melodies. You can see them together in the video below:

Following this encounter, in 2020 she joined David Charrier’s Master The Handpan platform, becoming a teacher offering her own online courses. You can get Mumi’s masterclass, which includes 34 video lessons, by clicking the link. In 2017, Mumi teamed up with Alessandro Civitelli, an Italian luthier and DJ born in Genoa on October 25, 1975, to found their own handpan brand, which they named Elaia, meaning “Olive” in ancient Greek. Their company is called Elaia S.n.c. di A. Civitelli ed E. Grassia. Since then, Mumi has mainly showcased the instruments she crafts through her YouTube channel and social media, where she also sells them.

Mumi mainly plays as a soloist, but has also been part of a collective project with Jacky 0, an electronic music producer also based in Milan, since 2014. Their collaboration resulted in an 2015 EP titled “Circle”, featuring five tracks totaling around 30 minutes. You can purchase it directly from the Bandcamp website. Her most popular hits are handpan covers of Nothing Else Matters, Right Where It Belongs, and Hallelujah, which have racked up several million views on her YouTube channel. She also releases original compositions. You can watch her cover of Metallica’s iconic track below:

Compose melodies like Mumi with a superb hang drum

Mumi is one of the artists who quickly left her mark on the handpan community thanks to the covers and compositions she shares on social media. She brought a breath of fresh air to this percussion instrument by putting her own style and vision front and center. Now, thanks to this article, you have a clear picture of the musical journey of singer and multi-instrumentalist Mumi.

However, if you want to play pieces like this talented musician, you’ll need a handpan with excellent sound quality and resonance. That’s why I recommend the selection from the Instruments du Monde online store, which offers dozens of handpans for the delight of anyone who loves this flying-saucer-shaped instrument. To play as many songs as possible, choose a handpan with plenty of notes—this store carries many top-quality models.

Unleash your talent with this handpan and treat yourself to a 17-note handpan by clicking on the image below:

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While continuing to highlight talented artists, we should also look to France, where the excellent Quentin Kayser has been creating melodies on the handpan for well over ten years. He is one of the hang drum musicians who has had a major influence on the international scene around this percussion instrument.