The HANG was invented in Bern in 2000 by Felix Rohner and Sabina Schärer from PANArt. Hang means hand in Bernese dialect. Its design was based on the study of various instruments from around the world, such as the steel drum, gong, udu and ghatam.

It consists of 2 metal hemispheres, one of which contains a resonance hole (GU) and the other of which has 8 small dents and a dome (DING), enabling it to produce 9 different sounds. There are various models of hang with varying tones.

Players either place it on their knees or play it on a drum stand. They play with their fingers, their whole hand, the palm, or a mixture of all three techniques. In fact there is no specific technique, allowing everyone to develop their own method and style.