Original Handpan Music by David Robert Jones

Music as a Practice of Presence

The handpan entered my life as a healing tool, a musical instrument, and a contemplative practice.

Its rich, resonant tones invite stillness, creativity, and connection. Whether I am playing for personal reflection, leading a retreat, sharing music in community, or recording original compositions, I continue to discover the remarkable ways music can support healing, mindfulness, and emotional well-being.

The recordings shared here are offered as invitations—to slow down, listen deeply, and reconnect with the present moment.

Discography

Goodnight Moon (June 2026)

Original handpan composition recorded on a PanArt 1st Generation Pygmy.

🎵 Spotify | Apple Music | YouTube Music

A Lifetime: Golden Gate Halo Batch 2 (January 2026)

This handpan album emerged from the same mindful and embodied approach that informs my counseling, retreat, and teaching work. The music is spacious and rhythmic, inviting stillness, reflection, and connection.

(Listen casually or attentively—both are welcome)

🎵 Spotify | Apple Music | YouTube Music | Bandcamp | Amazon Music

Release Details

Goodnight Moon: PanArt 1st Gen Pygmy (Single)

An Original Handpan Composition

Recorded on a PanArt 1st Generation Pygmy || Released June 2026

Some music asks for attention. Other music creates space.

Goodnight Moon emerged from quiet evening practice sessions and a desire to explore the gentle transition from activity into rest. Recorded on a first-generation PanArt Pygmy handpan, the piece reflects the stillness that often arrives when we finally allow ourselves to slow down.

Beneath shifting skies and changing seasons, there remains an invitation to pause, listen, and return to the present moment. The warm, earthy voice of the 1st Gen PanArt Pygmy creates a spacious and reflective atmosphere that supports contemplation, rest, and ease.

About the Instrument: PanArt First Generation Pygmy

The handpan featured in Goodnight Moon is a first-generation PanArt Hang tuned to the Pygmy scale.

Created by the original inventors of the instrument in Bern, Switzerland, first-generation PanArt instruments are known for their distinct voice. The Pygmy scale carries a particularly reflective quality, blending earthy resonance with spacious melodic possibilities.

For me, the instrument serves not only as a means of musical expression but also as a practice of listening, presence, and exploration.

Listen to Goodnight Moon

🎵 Spotify | 🎵 Apple Music | 🎵 YouTube Music | 🎵 Amazon Music | 🎵 Bandcamp

A Lifetime: Golden Gate Halo Batch 2 (Album)

An Original Halo Album

Recorded on a Batch 2 Golden Gate Halo || Released January 2026

Deep bow. This is one of the first things I remember hearing in early correspondence with Kyle Cox, maker of the Halo. It seemed to be a way he would often recognize, with humility, the beautiful healing sounds that others brought to our world through his creations.

This album is a deep bow on this special day of the year.

An offering. A giving of thanks. A recognition that we all get to play a small but important part in this lifetime we have together.

The first song was initially composed next to my aunt Diane's hospital bedside this past November. It has grown into what it is now, a story of A Lifetime. The ups and downs. The quiet places. The hard times. The easy times. The joy. The sadness.

But always the thread of Loving Presence.

Each song was recorded so that you can feel what it feels like to play the Halo and hear it from my perspective as if the it is on your lap and it is your hands that are dancing. If you're wearing headphones, notes on the right side of the pan will sound more prominent in your right ear and likewise for the left.

I hope to bring you close, close enough to hear me breathing, close enough to notice the imperfections, close enough to feel the emotions of the stories each one of these songs invites, close enough to feel the magic of these pans that Kyle and his team created.

Deep bow. Deep bow.

About the Instrument: Batch 2 Golden Gate Halo

This album was recorded on a Batch 2 Golden Gate Halo, an early-era instrument crafted by Pantheon Steel under the direction of Kyle Cox. Built using Pantheon's original rolled-shell construction, it comes from a generation of Halos that many of us players cherish for the warm sustain, clear note separation, and deeply expressive voice.

From Pantheon's original description of the Golden Gate scale:  A wistful major, filled with golden light and the yearning of two major seventh chords. The low E on the tone circle acts as a second tonal center, allowing modulation from E minor to C major. The name was inspired by the heartbreaking site of fog spilling down a pastel hill like an ocean wave in San Francisco, bright white on top, but moody and mysterious underneath.

The Golden Gate scale became one of Pantheon Steel's most beloved sound models. Its melodic, uplifting character invites both contemplation and exploration, offering a landscape that feels at once grounded and expansive.

There is also a distinctive quality to these early rolled-shell Halos that compelled me to search for one and find one: a tone that feels organic, resonant, and alive. The instrument responds with remarkable sensitivity, revealing subtle textures and dynamics even at the softest touch. Throughout this recording, its voice became more than a musical tool—it became a companion, shaping the emotional contours of each piece.

Today, Batch 2 Golden Gate Halos are recognized as part of Pantheon Steel's classic era, valued not only for their craftsmanship and rarity, but for the unique character they bring to every performance.

Listen to A Lifetime

Spotify | Apple Music | YouTube Music | Bandcamp | Amazon Music

Why Handpan?

I discovered the handpan during my own recovery journey following a traumatic brain injury. What began as a source of comfort, creativity, and personal healing gradually became an important part of my life and work.

The instrument continues to remind me that some experiences are understood not through explanation, but through listening.

Through recording, performance, retreats, and contemplative practice, the handpan has become one of the ways I explore presence, connection, and the restorative power of music.

Hear the full story on The Handpan Podcast → Link

The Role of Music in My Work

While counseling, mindfulness, retreats, and education each offer unique pathways toward growth, music speaks to something that often exists beyond words.

The handpan creates opportunities to slow down, settle the nervous system, and reconnect with ourselves in a different way.

Whether shared during retreats, wellness gatherings, contemplative events, or personal listening experiences, these musical offerings are grounded in the same values that guide all of Awaken Engage:

Presence

Healing

Creativity

Connection

Music has a unique ability to reach places that conversation alone sometimes cannot. It invites us to listen differently—to ourselves, to others, and to the world around us.

Performances & Collaborations

I occasionally offer handpan performances, contemplative sound experiences, retreat music, and collaborative creative projects.

Whether supporting a retreat, wellness gathering, community event, educational experience, or creative project, my intention is to create spaces that foster reflection, connection, and presence.

If you're interested in bringing handpan music to your event or exploring a potential collaboration, I'd love to connect.

Contact David

Stay Connected

Additional recordings and future releases will be added here as they become available.

You can also follow new releases through your preferred streaming platform and connect through Awaken Engage for updates on performances, retreats, and new musical projects.

Insight Timer Offerings

Join me at Insight Timer for what will become a robust set of offerings for mindfulness, meditation,  NSDR, sleep, and overall well-being. 

For now, please enjoy Bilateral (Binaural) Music for Anxiety and Sleep. *Note: To be effective, you must listen to this track using quality headphones.* 

If you're dealing with depression, anxiety, ADHD, PTSD, sleep disturbances, and other similar conditions, it's likely that you experience elevated levels of stress.  Bilateral music engages both sides of the brain in concert and helps the brain function in a more balanced state. Listening to bilateral, or binaural music daily (also referred to as 8D music) can give your brain relief and help it focus and relax.