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 helped make the steelpan a symbol of pride and cultural identity, recognized in many places around the world.
In 2023, the United Nations General Assembly named August 11 as World Steelpan Day. The next year, the Parliament of Trinidad and Tobago officially recognized the steelpan as the country’s national instrument.
Description
The modern pan is a percussion instrument that can play all the notes in a musical scale. It is made from large industrial drums that hold 200 liters of liquid.
The term "drum" 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, which produce sound when struck, unlike membranophones, which have stretched skin. Some steel pans are designed to play music based on the Pythagorean musical cycle of fourths and fifths.
A pan is played with two straight 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 early 20th-century Carnival groups in Trinidad and Tobago called tamboo bamboo.
The pan is the national instrument of Trinidad and Tobago. It is shown on the country's current coat of arms.
Origin
Steelpans were first created in the early to mid-1900s, but their origins date back to much earlier times, including the use of talking drums by West African cultures for ceremonies and long-distance communication.
Because of the transatlantic slave trade, many African slaves were brought to the Americas, including Trinidad. In the 1780s, French colonists arrived in Trinidad and Tobago and introduced street festival traditions. In 1785, plantation owners held the first Carnival in Trinidad. Many white plantation owners dressed as enslaved Africans, marched through the streets, and mocked African clothing, singing, and dancing, including beating talking drums. Enslaved Africans were not allowed to join these events. In response, they created secret Carnivals in their homes and backyards. They used masks, feathers, beads, and drumming, inspired by their own traditions.
In 1789, the Spanish governor of Trinidad, José María Chacón, ordered that all enslaved Africans (the majority of the population) must follow Roman Catholic religion and observe Christian holy days. This was an attempt to erase West African culture and beliefs. However, 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 away from plantations. These dances included music from skin drums and gourd rattles.
In 1834, slavery was abolished in Trinidad and Tobago due to the Slavery Abolition Act of 1833, but segregation and forced labor continued. After emancipation, Africans celebrated Canboulay, a harvest festival with calypso drumming. In 1881, the Canboulay riots occurred, which were revolts during the festival. After this, stick-fighting and African percussion music were banned during the 1880s. These were replaced by bamboo sticks beaten together, which were later banned as well.
The first instruments in the development of the steelpan were tamboo bamboos, tunable sticks made of bamboo wood. These were struck on the ground and with other sticks to create sound. Tamboo bamboo bands also included percussion from a (gin) bottle and spoon. By the mid-1930s, metal percussion instruments were added to tamboo bamboo bands, such as the automobile brake hub "iron" or the biscuit drum "boom." These replaced the bottle-and-spoon and the "bass" bamboo that was pounded on the ground.
In 1937, percussionists in Laventille, Trinidad, used frying pans, dustbin lids, and oil drums to create music. In 1941, the U.S. Navy arrived in Trinidad, and steelpan music became popular among soldiers, starting its spread around the world. At the time, steelpan music was associated with violent or unruly groups, and women were not allowed to participate. Over time, 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, and by 1940, it became the preferred music for young underprivileged men during Carnival.
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, 1951, 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 and the Esso Tripoli Steel Band, which played at the World's Fair in Montreal, Canada, and later toured with Liberace. They were also 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 important developments include the tuning of 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 of steelpans using pressing machines in the 1970s. Much of this work took place 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 of shaping the pan was tested by spinning it on a lathe-like device with a roller. While this created pre-sunk pans, scratches and grooves often appeared on the steel.
A Swiss steelpan manufacturer, PANArt, researched fine-grain sheet steel and developed a deep-drawn raw form hardened by nitriding. This process, along with the new instruments they called "pang," was presented at the International Conference of Steelpan and Science in Port-of-Spain in 2000.
Electronic steelpans have also been created. 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 a note's oval shape affects the pitch. Larger ovals produce lower tones.
The size of the instrument changes depending on the pan. 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 full drum, with only three bass notes per pan. In this case, one person can play six such pans. The length of the skirt usually matches the drum's range (whether it plays high or low notes). Pans are often painted or covered with chrome. Other methods, such as nickel plating, powder coating, or hardening, can also be used as finishes.
Although the steelpan is a newer instrument in the percussion family, tuning methods have improved quickly. Strobe tuners are best for tuning. Seeing the first few overtones (extra notes produced by the pan) makes a strobe tuner necessary. Steelpan makers began using strobe tuners after discovering that adjusting the overtones (the first, second, and third partials) made the pan's sound more vibrant and clear.
A steelpan can go out of tune in several ways (most often due to hitting it too hard or using improper techniques). It is common for steelbands to have their instruments tuned once or twice each year. A tuner must have strong skills to make the notes sound good and correct. Many tuning tasks are done with hammers.
Classification
At the start of the steelband movement, players used only one pan. These pans are now called around the neck instruments. Later, some steelpans became chromatic by using multiple pans, especially for the bass registers. Bass registers have fewer notes per pan because the lower note areas are larger. Following are some of the most popular instruments:
Music and competitions
The variety of music played by steelbands is very large. In Trinidad, steelbands often change or adapt the current year's calypsos for carnival performances. Calypsos from earlier years are rarely played 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, such as Latin and jazz songs, movie music, and other popular tunes. Pannists also have a tradition of playing classical music that began in 1946. This music is played either in calypso rhythm (called "The Bomb") or in a straight style (usually during concerts or music festivals). In these settings, playing the music accurately and staying true to the original version is very important.
An international festival called the World Steelband Music Festival has happened sometimes in Trinidad since 1964. At this event, steelbands perform a test piece (which may be specially written or a chosen calypso), a piece of choice (often a "classic" or European art-music work), and a calypso of choice, all in a concert-style setting. Panorama, the largest steelband contest in the world, takes place during Carnival celebrations in Trinidad. 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 annual Notting Hill Carnival. In Brooklyn, New York, where many West Indians live, an annual Steelband Panorama has been held since 1972 as part of its Labor Day Carnival.
Steelpans were brought into the jazz fusion genre by musicians like Dave Samuels, Othello Molineaux, and Jonathan Scales in the 1970s and 2000s. They appear in the early fusion album Morning Dance by Spyro Gyra.
Pannists
A pannist (sometimes called a panist or panman) is someone who plays the steelpan. A professional pannist may perform alone, play with a steel band, or support singers or other musicians.
Pannists often perform with their bands in big competitions and usually remember all the music they play.
The highest role for a pannist in a Panorama steelband is the captain. These large groups often have section leaders, who are experienced pannists responsible for guiding 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 played 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.