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The History of the Steel Pan. Amy Garner, Sarah Holland, Meggie Humphreys, Rochelle Gann. The steel pan was invented in Trinidad and Tobago in the 1930’s The steel pan, or otherwise known as the steel drum, is the only instrument invented in the 20 th century.
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The History of the Steel Pan Amy Garner, Sarah Holland, Meggie Humphreys, Rochelle Gann
The steel pan was invented in Trinidad and Tobago in the 1930’s • The steel pan, or otherwise known as the steel drum, is the only instrument invented in the 20th century
Traced back to African slaves on the island in the 16th century • Music was their only link to Africa • The Africans stomped on bamboo, and they called themselves tamboo bamboo bands • The upper class banned the instrument
Craftsman discovered that dustbins made of metal provided sound when hammered The first steel drum performers would carry a small drum in one hand and beat the metal with the other hand
After WWII, steel drums were made from discarded oil drums The craftsmen would pound the flat metal into convex and concave profiles which created various pitches
Selection of Sounds Selection of Sounds
Four Cello Register: TenorMusical Function: Low Harmony & Melody, Reinforce Bass
Six Bass • Register: BassMusical Function: Bass Lines, Bottom Chord Tones
D Lead Register: SopranoMusical Function: Melody http://www.mathsyear2000.org/museum/gallery1/steeldrum/
Double Second Pans Register: Alto Musical Function: Melody, Countermelody, Harmony
Phase 1- Supplies and Stretching • 55-gallon oil drum is selected • 40-pound sledgehammer is applied to the bottom of the barrel • stretch metal evenly without tearing • use the “tempering” process before moving on to next phase
Phase 2-Note Placement • 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/PanTuning-160x120-15fps.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 • Duo featuring Larry and Janet • Introduced to Steel Drums by Dave Beery • 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 • Sir Cedric Luces • Bob Lyons • Panjive • JT’s Island Steel • JR • Jim Wist Red Red Wine by JR
References: 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/makePan.html Http://www.hopetownlighthouse.com/index.html