Monday, April 4, 2016

Steel Pan Music, An Art Like No Other

By Donald Williams


Some days people just want to escape the world with songs on their playlists. Or by playing the guitar on an otherwise ordinary day with friends. Or even when you are doing the same mundane things on a Monday morning. Whatever it is, music is undeniably part of your daily life and for good reason.

To play it however, is something much more complex, as not too many can do it. But then there are others who are just so good. And because of that, music had evolved with so many instruments and various genres. Easily, pop is the most common. And the likes of steel pan music is not unheard of, although not as popular.

Amid the rise of electronics and its popularity far back in the twentieth century, the steel pan stood out well. This can be attributed to its simplicity, because it probably is the only instrument that came from industrial waste. Nevertheless sturdy, it became an icon of the culture in Trinidad, defining it with its Caribbean roots.

Sometimes referred to as steel drums, they emerged somewhere in the nineteen thirties. Some metal objects like paint pots, including car parts, dust bins and oil drums were widely used as percussion instruments but somehow, artists found a way to tune them. Over the years, there have been several version of its development that it is difficult to get the exact date.

Even though some of the pieces they used were outlawed, like bamboo bands or banned skin drums, they went on with their trial and error process. Through endless experimenting, they finally produced the kind of pitches acceptable to the ears. While there may be so many version to its origin, it cannot be argued that it had come from that island and Tobago.

And to think those people had no training, because at the time, at those hard times, you had to learn among yourselves. The war was not helping and the government associated lit with criminal acts because of the loud noise it produces. Clashes suddenly became common among groups who played them. Violence was not avoided but not for long.

In the nineteen fiftys, it had claimed a well deserved attention, earning a decision to bring a band that produces that kind of music, to the United Kingdom as part of a very important occasion of the Commonwealth. This had defined the instrument itself as a vital part of Trinidad culture and also earned a wide respect for where it had come from.

Thereafter, it became stronger than ever, being introduced at various international and national festivals, even being played before the Queen of England when she came to visit. An association maintaining it, went on to provide activities specializing its kind of music. The pan movement became more widely known and organized.

This usually takes during the season of Carnival where pannists gather for the Panorama, a festival known as an important event in Trinidad. Competitions across the islands are also observed during February and March. In 1992, the pan became the official national instrument of the land as it continues to enchant those who watch and listen.




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