The History of the Steel Pan Amy Garner

n The steel pan was invented in Trinidad and Tobago in the 1930’s n

n Traced back to African slaves on the island in the 16 th century

n Craftsman discovered that dustbins made of metal provided sound when hammered n The

n After WWII, steel drums were made from discarded oil drums n The craftsmen

Four Cello Register: Tenor Musical Function: Low Harmony & Melody, Reinforce Bass

Six Bass l Register: Bass Musical Function: Bass Lines, Bottom Chord Tones

D Lead Register: Soprano Musical Function: Melody http: //www. mathsyear 2000. org/mus eum/gallery 1/steeldrum/

Register: Alto Musical Function: Melody, Countermelody, Harmony

Phase 1 - Supplies and Stretching u 55 -gallon oil drum is selected u

Phase 2 -Note Placement l l l template is used to mark placement of

Phase 3 -Tuning § barrel side, or “skirt”, is cut § uses hammers of

Phase 4 -Painting • each steel pan is painted according to how the person

Hopetown Lighthouse l Duo featuring Larry and Janet l Introduced to Steel Drums by

Their Music ¢ Traditional tropical songs ¢ Old Caribbean folk tunes ¢ Favorites from

Other Steel Drum Musicians l Sir Cedric Luces l Bob Lyons l Panjive l

Http: //www. isu. edu/stdorg/special/csdb/history. html Http: //www. steeldrummusic. net/history. htm Http: //www. firstact. com

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The History of the Steel Pan Amy Garner, Sarah Holland, Meggie Humphreys, Rochelle Gann

n The steel pan was invented in Trinidad and Tobago in the 1930’s n The steel pan, or otherwise known as the steel drum, is the only instrument invented in the 20 th century

n Traced back to African slaves on the island in the 16 th century n Music was their only link to Africa n The Africans stomped on bamboo, and they called themselves tamboo bands n The upper class banned the instrument

n Craftsman discovered that dustbins made of metal provided sound when hammered n The first steel drum performers would carry a small drum in one hand beat the metal with the other hand

n After WWII, steel drums were made from discarded oil drums n The craftsmen would pound the flat metal into convex and concave profiles which created various pitches

Selection of Sounds

Four Cello Register: Tenor Musical Function: Low Harmony & Melody, Reinforce Bass

Six Bass l Register: Bass Musical Function: Bass Lines, Bottom Chord Tones

D Lead Register: Soprano Musical Function: Melody http: //www. mathsyear 2000. org/mus eum/gallery 1/steeldrum/

Creation of the Steel Pan

Phase 1 - Supplies and Stretching u 55 -gallon oil drum is selected u 40 -pound sledgehammer is applied to the bottom of the barrel u stretch metal evenly without tearing u use the “tempering” process before moving on to next phase

Phase 2 -Note Placement l l l template is used to mark placement of notes lines are drawn to guide tuner each note is “grooved”

Phase 3 -Tuning § barrel side, or “skirt”, is cut § uses hammers of various sizes and “pongs” the notes from underneath of pan § stretching and smoothing of the bubbled areas for tuning purposes § each note is tuned in relation to the other notes § http: //www. toucans. net/multimedia/Pan. Tuning 160 x 120 -15 fps. qt

Phase 4 -Painting • each steel pan is painted according to how the person feels • it can be colorful or just chrome • this detunes the pans so tuning is done once more

Hopetown Lighthouse l Duo featuring Larry and Janet l Introduced to Steel Drums by Dave Beery l First Performance in 1995 Ob-la-de, Ob-la-da

Their Music ¢ Traditional tropical songs ¢ Old Caribbean folk tunes ¢ Favorites from Jimmy Buffet ¢ Jazz Selections Don’t Worry Be Happy

Other Steel Drum Musicians l Sir Cedric Luces l Bob Lyons l Panjive l JT’s Island Steel l JR l Jim Wist Red Wine by JR

Http: //www. isu. edu/stdorg/special/csdb/history. html Http: //www. steeldrummusic. net/history. htm Http: //www. firstact. com Http: //www. panyard. com/pans/dblsec. asp Http: //www. toucans. net/Toc/make. Pan. html Http: //www. hopetownlighthouse. com/index. html