The steelpan, also called a pan or steel drum, is a musical instrument that came from Trinidad and Tobago. People who play the steelpan are called pannists.
In 1992, the steelpan was named Trinidad and Tobago’s national instrument by Prime Minister Patrick Manning. This action made the steelpan a symbol of pride and culture for the country, recognized by people around the world.
In 2023, the United Nations General Assembly chose August 11 as World Steelpan Day. The next year, in 2024, the Parliament of Trinidad and Tobago officially confirmed the steelpan as the nation’s national instrument.
Description
The modern pan is a percussion instrument that can play all musical notes. It is made from large industrial drums that hold 200 liters.
The term "drum" here refers to the steel containers used to make pans. These containers are more accurately called steel pans or pans because they belong to the idiophone family of instruments, not the membranophone family (which includes traditional drums). Some steel pans are designed to play music based on a specific pattern of notes called the Pythagorean cycle of fourths and fifths.
A pan is played with two sticks that have rubber tips. The size and type of rubber tip depend on the type of pan being played. Some musicians use four sticks, holding two in each hand. This style of playing developed from percussion groups in Trinidad and Tobago during the early 20th century, known as tamboo bamboo.
The pan is the official musical instrument of Trinidad and Tobago. It is shown on the country's current coat of arms.
Origin
Steelpans began in the early to mid-1900s. However, their origins go back much earlier. West African cultures used talking drums for ceremonies and to send messages far away.
Because of the transatlantic slave trade, African slaves were brought to the Americas, including Trinidad. In the 1780s, French colonists arrived in Trinidad and Tobago and brought street festival traditions. In 1785, plantation owners held the first Carnival in Trinidad. Many white plantation owners dressed as slaves and marched through the streets, mocking African clothing, singing, and dancing, including beating talking drums. Enslaved Africans were not allowed to join the festivities. In response, they created their own secret Carnivals in cabins and backyards. They used masks, feathers, beads, and drumming, inspired by ancient traditions.
In 1789, the Spanish governor of Trinidad, José María Chacón, ordered all Africans (the majority of the population) to follow Roman Catholic religion and observe Christian holy days. This was meant to erase West African culture and beliefs. Enslaved Africans preserved their traditions by hiding them within Christian holidays. For example, on Sundays, enslaved people wore their best clothes and attended drum dances in yards or on land where they grew their own crops. They danced to music made with skin drums and gourd rattles.
In 1834, slavery was abolished in Trinidad and Tobago because of the Slavery Abolition Act of 1833. However, segregation and indentured servitude continued. After emancipation, Africans celebrated Canboulay, a harvest festival with calypso drumming. In 1881, Canboulay riots happened, which were revolts during the festival. After this, stick-fighting and African percussion music were banned in the 1880s. They were replaced by bamboo sticks beaten together, which were later also banned.
The first instruments in the development of steelpan were tamboo bamboos, tunable sticks made of bamboo wood. These were struck on the ground and with other sticks to make sound. Tamboo bamboo bands included percussion using a (gin) bottle and spoon. By the mid-1930s, metal percussion was added to tamboo bamboo bands. The first metal items used were either an automobile brake hub "iron" or a biscuit drum "boom." These replaced the gin bottle-and-spoon and the "bass" bamboo that was pounded on the ground.
In 1937, percussionists in Laventille returned as an orchestra using frying pans, dustbin lids, and oil drums. In 1941, the U.S. Navy arrived in Trinidad. Steelpan musicians helped popularize the music among soldiers, starting its international spread. At the time, steelpan music was linked to violent or unruly groups. It was not acceptable for women to play the instrument. Culturally, the stigma came from the belief that women belonged at home or with children, not in the street with pan players. As the instrument became more accepted, women were allowed to join, and the stigma faded. In 1939, the first all-steel band, Alexander's Ragtime Band, was formed. By 1940, it became the preferred carnival music for young underprivileged men.
The 55-gallon oil drum was used to make steelpans around 1947. The Trinidad All-Steel Pan Percussion Orchestra (TASPO), created to perform at the Festival of Britain in 1951, was the first steelband with all instruments made from oil drums. They performed on July 26, introducing the steelpan and a new music genre to the world. Members of TASPO included Ellie Mannette and Winston "Spree" Simon. Hugh Borde led the National Steel Band of Trinidad & Tobago at the Commonwealth Arts Festival in England. He also led the Esso Tripoli Steel Band, which played at the World's Fair in Montreal, Canada, and later toured with Liberace. They were featured on an album with him.
Three steel pans were used onstage in the 1954 Broadway musical House of Flowers. When Trinidadian-born dancer Geoffrey Holder joined the cast, he suggested adding three drummers from his dance company: Michael Alexander (who made the instruments), Roderick Clavery, and Alphonso Marshall. These drummers also performed as dancers in the show.
Anthony Williams designed the "fourths and fifths" arrangement of notes, known as the circle of fifths. This became the standard way to place notes on lead pans. Other developments include tuning harmonic overtones in individual notes, created independently by Bertie Marshall and Alan Gervais.
In the United States, steelpan instruments were sold as early as 1961.
The Caribbean Research Institute (CARIRI) studied ways to mass-produce raw forms using pressing machines in the 1970s. Much of this work happened in Sweden with the Saab Company. Although early results were promising, the project was abandoned due to lack of funding and support from local pan tuners in Trinidad. Another method tried was spinning the pan on a lathe-like device using a roller on a bar. This created pre-sunk pans, but scratches and grooves often appeared on the steel.
A Swiss steelpan maker, PANArt, researched fine-grain sheet steel and developed a deep-drawn raw form hardened by nitriding. This process and the new instruments, called pang, were introduced at the International Conference of Steelpan and Science in Port-of-Spain in 2000.
Electronic steelpans have also been made. One example is the E-Pan, invented by Salmon Cupid, who holds patents for it. Another is the Percussive Harmonic Instrument (PHI).
Construction
The size of the note on the steelpan relates to the pitch—the larger the oval shape, the lower the sound.
The size of the steelpan can vary. Some pans may have most of the "skirt" (the cylindrical part of the oil drum) removed and include about 30 notes in the soprano range. Others may use the entire drum and have only three bass notes per pan. In this case, one person can play up to six pans at once. The length of the skirt usually matches the pitch range of the drum. Pans are often painted or covered with chrome. Other finishes, such as nickel plating, powder coating, or hardening, may also be used.
Although the steelpan is a newer instrument in the percussion family, tuning methods have improved quickly. Strobe tuners are best for this task. Seeing the first few overtones (extra sounds) is important, which makes strobe tuners necessary for tuning. Steelpan makers began using strobe tuners after discovering that adjusting the overtones (first, second, and third) made the pan's sound seem brighter and more lively than before.
A steelpan can go out of tune in several ways, most often due to hitting it too hard or not holding it properly. It is common for steelbands to have their instruments tuned once or twice each year. A tuner must be skilled to make the notes sound good and at the correct pitch. Much of the tuning is done using hammers.
Classification
At the start of the steelband movement, players used one pan at a time, which are now called around-the-neck instruments. Later, some steelpans could play all the notes in order (chromatic) by using more than one pan. This was especially needed for the bass section, where each pan has fewer notes because the lower notes require larger pans. Here are some of the most popular instruments:
Music and competitions
The steelband has a wide range of music it can play. In Trinidad, steelbands often change or adapt the current year's calypsos for carnival performances. It is uncommon to hear calypsos from earlier years during carnival or the Panorama music competition. Bands that perform throughout the year, both in Trinidad and around the world, take pride in being able to play many types of music, including Latin and jazz songs, film music, and other popular tunes. Steelband musicians also have a tradition of playing classical music, which began in 1946. This is done either in calypso rhythm (called "The Bomb") or in a more traditional style, usually during concerts or music festivals. In these settings, playing the music accurately and staying true to the original is very important.
An international event called the World Steelband Music Festival has taken place in Trinidad since 1964. At this festival, steelbands perform a test piece (sometimes a specially written song or a chosen calypso), a piece of their own choice (often a "classic" or European art-music work), and a calypso of their choice, all in a concert-style setting. Panorama, the largest steelband contest in the world, happens during Trinidad's carnival celebrations. In 2020, the first online steelpan competition, called PanoGrama, was created by Nevin Roach. Since 1978, a national Panorama competition has been held in the United Kingdom as part of the Notting Hill Carnival. In Brooklyn, New York, where many West Indians live, a steelband Panorama contest has been held every year since 1972 as part of its Labor Day Carnival.
In the 1970s, musicians like Dave Samuels and Othello Molineaux introduced steelpans to the jazz fusion genre. In the 2000s, Jonathan Scales also contributed to this style. Steelpans are featured in the early jazz fusion album Morning Dance by Spyro Gyra.
Pannists
A pannist, also called a panist or panman, is someone who plays the steelpan. A professional pannist might perform alone, join a steel band, or support singers and other musicians.
Pannists often perform with their bands in big competitions and usually memorize all their music.
The highest position for a pannist in a Panorama steelband is the captain. These large groups may also have section leaders, who are skilled pannists responsible for helping guide the different parts of the band.
Important pannists include Ellie Mannette, known as the "Father of the Modern Steel Drum" and a skilled panman, and Winston "Spree" Simon, who created and plays the "Ping Pong" pan.
Musicians Jimmy Buffett and Lord Kitchener are known for writing songs that were later adapted for the steel pan. Notable pan tuners and producers include Darren Dyke, Mappo, Bertrand Kelman, and Herman Guppy.