Steel Pan History free essay sample

From the palm tree laden beaches of the Caribbean a comes an iconic instrument whose distinctive tune has for decades been characteristic of the British West Indies, the afro-Caribbean culture and the island way of life. Though its unique melody can be found throughout the islands, many westerners may be surprised to know that this instrument does not come from the popular islands of the Bahamas, Jamaica nor Barbados but from the small island of Trinidad Tobago. Though this instrument is relatively new on the global music scene, appearing as recent as the 1940’s it is no doubt that in its short life it has made a notable impact in Trinidad, the Caribbean and the world. Unlike many instruments the term â€Å"steel pan† has multiple meanings and may refer to a single instrument, orchestral arrangement or family of instruments. The steel pan’s culture and tradition is like that of any other instrument in that the world’s perspective of it is based on a combination of its history, artists, repertoire, and performance context. We will write a custom essay sample on Steel Pan History or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Trinidad Tobago are a pair of twin islands in the southern Caribbean Sea. Though they are geographically considered part of the Americas, due to their proximity to South America and Venezuela in particular, of which they are 6. 8 miles away (at their closest point), Trinidad has shared and absorbed much of its culture from its indigenous inhabitants, colonial history, and the people who came to work on the plantations. Trinidad was discovered in 1492 by the Spanish explorer Columbus, on his first voyage to the Americas. Like many of its neighbours, though it originated as a Spanish colony through wars, acquisitions, treaties and varied emigration it has changed hands many times resulting in immense cultural diversity. This long line of colonial masters began with Spain, who in 1532 appointed its first governor to oversee its new acquisition. Very soon after its role as a labour colony was solidified, its primary source of labour, the indigenous population quickly eradicated through hard labour, disease and displacement. In order to resolve this labour deficit and increase population the Spanish government invited the French to settle in Trinidad and they came with their slaves, property and traditions of their own. They saw the opportunity to migrate to Trinidad as a blessing. †(â€Å"Emancipation Day†, 7), as planters in Martinique, Guadeloupe and other French territories feared that the revolt in Haiti could happen in the other French islands, and so they became afraid. â€Å"In February 1797, during the wars of the French Revolution, Trinidad capitulated to a British force, and in 1802, following the Treaty of Amiens; it was formally ceded to Great Britain. (â€Å"Colonial rule, 1). It was Britian’s rule that lead to: the freedom of the slaves in 1853. Trinidad becoming a liberated part of the Commonwealth in 1962 and a sovereign Republic in 1976. Though the British shaped the political, economic and social aspect of Trinidad, it was the French influence that brought Trinida d one of its most iconic pseudo-religious celebrations, Mardi-Gras or Carnival. This celebration would play a major role in the cultural development of the nation and the emergence of the steel pan. When the freed slaves (slavery was abolished in the West Indies in 1834) joined in the festivities, they could not afford the conventional instruments, so they used African drums, the instruments of their ancestors, then created percussion bands made up of bamboo joints cut from the bamboo plant. † (Pan a short history,1) Due to the fact that many of the plantation owner were absentee, it was these (former) slaves from the â€Å"Yoruba, Hausa, Congo, Ibo, Rada, Mandingo, Kromanti (Koromantyn) and Temne† (â€Å"Emancipation Day†, 7) traditions that became the founders of this nation and the innovators of this new instrument. To an ethnomusicologist the origins of the steel pan, as a percussion instrument will come as no surprise as bells rattles and drums have been used in African societies for communication, entertainment and worship from as early as â€Å"6000 B. C In Trinidad and Tobago African drums were used in churches, orchestras, dances and festivals. There are different types of drums such as the bougarabou, djembe, dun dun and talking drum. † (â€Å"Emancipation Day†, 8) In 1884 the beating of skin drums was prohibited in Trinidad as it was used as a method of accurate communication amongst slaves. This, simply forced the slaves to become more creative in there methods of communication, eventually leading to the beating of hollow bamboo stick and the tamboo-bamboo. The tamboo-bamboo are large hollow pieces of bamboo of varying sizes that are used to create tunes of varying sounds. After the emancipation of the slaves, the tamboo-bamboo progressed from a necessary method of communication to an alternative form of entertainment with accompanying, songs, dancing and celebrations. It was this step to multi-tonal percussion that was one of the largest progressions towards the steel pan as it is known today. Tamboo-bamboo bands were often accompanied by â€Å"non-traditional instruments like as scrap metal, metal containers, graters and dustbins† (Pan a short history,1). By the 1930’s these became the dominant component of Tamboo-bamboo bands. As metal became more readily available it gradually replaced bamboo. Metal playing musicians in these bands realised that raised sections of the instrument tended to make different sounds than flat sections of the instrument. During the World War II years there was a growing demand for oil and due to Trinidad’s large oil reserves, excess and discarded oil and chemical drums were plentiful. Through experimentation, luck and persistence by the unemployed and underprivileged youth came â€Å"the birth of steel pan, the only musical invention of the twentieth century. †( Pan a short history,1). It was discovered that by striking sections of the pan that had been warped by heat and mallet that one could achieve a variety of tones. According to tradition, a young man from Laventille, one of the most poverty stricken areas was the first to do this. Pan however; as an item was not invented by any person. It evolved and there are a number of people, including myself, who advanced it through certain stages of that evolution. (Elliott, 200) Some of these artists include ‘â€Å"Winston ‘Spree’ Simon is credited with creating the first ‘melody pan’†¦ Ellie Mannette is credited with being the first to wrap the playing sticks with rubber which softened the attack and produced a more refined tone (now called the hammer) Anthony Williams is credited with inventing the ‘spider web pan’ which was designed in a cycle of fourths and fifths. )† ( Pan a short history,2)â€Å"Today they are made using empty oil drums that are cut to varying depths depending on their role in the orchestra (bass, cello, guitar, ping-pong). The surface is then sunk about two inches and delicately seamed with a punch and hammer. A struck section will resound relative to its size and depth. The drum face is then exposed briefly to fire and doused with water or oil, which has the effect of retempering the steel and further insulating the notes. † (Sewell,1) In modern times, steel pan does not refer to a single instrument but rather a family of instruments that when played together in harmonies are referred to as â€Å"steel band†. Steel pan musicians are called pannists. The voices that compose the steel band are high tenor which ranges from D4 to F#6, low tenor which ranges from C4 to E6, double second pan uses two pans and ranges from F3 to B5, quadraphonic pan uses 4 pans and has an extensive pitch range, from B2 one octave below middle C to Bb5, guitar pan which ranges from one octave below middle C, to F#5 one octave above middle C, cello pan which uses a combination of 3 pans. One pan therefore contains the notes C, Eb, Gb and A; another pan contains C#, E, G and Bb; the third pan contains B, D, F and Ab, and the four pan bass which range is from G2, two octaves and a 4th below middle C, to D4 above middle C. The engine room as it has come to be known is a miscellaneous compilation of various non-traditional percussion instruments. Though its roots are as a method of communication for the slaves, the art of musical percussion in Trinidad has gradually become one of the most central and important aspect of the entertainment and cultural scene on the island. Panorama and Carnival are the greatest examples of the context of steel pan performance in the West Indies. â€Å"In 1963, the government of Trinidad and Tobago in conjunction with the National Association of Trinidad and Tobago Steel bandsmen (NATTS) launched a new steel band competition called Panorama. ’ (Steel band competition,1) Panorama is an annual steel band competition which consists of hundreds of bands and thousands of musicians. Though the compositions of the bands may change with regards to the musicians that participate the style, form and presentations of the band does not. People will often follow a particular band from year to year and round to round similar to the way people may support a team during the world cup. The competition consists of three rounds preliminary, semi-final and finals. Some world famous steel bands are the desperadoes, North Stars and the Harmonites. Each band plays a total of a 6 minuet recital, this performance is judged on arrangement, tone, rhythm and overall performance, four aspect controlled primarily by the arranger. Steel pan arrangers are among the most revered and beloved within the island musical community. Music is seldom written specifically for the steel drum. Though the steel drum can technically play any form of music, it’s repertoire comes primarily from the music in the popular culture. The most common form of music found in pan yards today is a popular form of music in Trinidad today called soca, some examples of soca played by the steel band include David Rudder’s The hammer, Marshall Montano’s Vibes cyah done and many more. Depending on the arranger the same song has the capacity to sound totally unique. The steel pan, being primarily a folk instrument does not share the bourgeois class statement that tradition musical instruments have. As a result transmission musical knowledge occurs in a much less formal setting than conventional western music. Some may seek lessons and theory books, but knowledge of the steel pan is most commonly acquired through friends, relatives or miscellaneous others. In conclusion the steel pan and steel pan culture have revolutionaries the way the world views the Caribbean. â€Å"indeed, over the past four decades, the steelpan has come a long way, moving from the panyards of the most depressed areas of a society to some of the most prestigious concert halls around the world. The Desperadoes, for instance, have performed at the Royal Albert Hall in London, Carnegie Hall, the Apollo and Lincoln Theaters in New York, the United Nations building, and the Kennedy Center in Washington, D. C. Other bands like Renegades, All Stars, Phase Two, Exodus have wooed audiences from London to Paris to Japan, mesmerizing them with their renditions of some of the most complex works of the classic composers such as Bach, Beethoven, Mozart, Sibelius, Rossini, Borodin. †( Pan a short history,1) It has given the West Indies a sound of it own, drawing thousands annually to its sweet sound and characteristic tone. Though it is just as much a part of the history of Trinidad and Tobago as the island itself the fact is that it is slowly disappearing. The steel pan has become a symbol of the islands’ peaceful past, as the average age of the musicians grow and the participation rate among youth gradually shrinks so two does it’s relevance in the modern world. The decline in the popularity of the steel pan has been related to rising gang violence, immoral behaviour and crime.