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In the 1880s, drums were made illegal, and Afro-Trinidadians switched to bamboo ‘instruments.’ They would beat skinned drums, chant, and fight street battles with staves. In the 19 th century in Trinidad and Tobago, drumming was an essential part of Carnival or Mardi Gras, but it was also used by gangs who performed what we call Kalinda or stick fighting. So, from that background, drumming in the Caribbean, North and South America came to form the basis of future rhythmic music genres such as Blues, Jazz, Salsa, Samba, Dancehall, Calypso and Reggae. It was one of the important strategies for emotional and physical survival during the ‘Middle Passage’. Yello spoke to Dr Kim Johnson, a foremost steel pan historian, about the evolution of pan and steel bands in Trinidad and Tobago and the instrument’s enduring place in the heart of Caribbean people.ĭr Johnson: “African people in the diaspora have always drummed. The only new acoustic instrument to be invented and widely recognised in the 20 th century – steel pan has helped put the Caribbean on the map. Originating in Trinidad and Tobago, and embraced throughout the region, the steel pan has a mythical history stemming from its connection to African drumming and subsequent extension into nearly every Caribbean island’s musical vocabulary. Steel pan and its innovators are now held in high regard by persons of all levels of society in Trinidad and Tobago.The distinctive notes of a steel pan cannot be separated from its home in the Caribbean. Time and exposure eventually eroded this stigma and the steel pan is now the national instrument of the republic of Trinidad and Tobago and a source of great pride for its citizens. Performances of rival bands often ended in violence and steel pans were considered the instruments of hooligans! The instruments and their creators were looked down on by the upper class of Trinidad society because they were made and played by persons from the ghettos.Īlso, criminal elements had an unfortunate love of steel band music. When steel pans first emerged in the 1930’s they were not taken seriously. Pan makers around the world are constantly investigating ways to improve and refine the instrument.
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Through experimentation, coincidence, trial and error, and ingenuity on the part of numerous innovators, the metal pan bands evolved into the steel pan family of instruments.Īs the pan makers knowledge and technique improved, so did the sound of the instrument.įor audio clips of vintage and contemporary steelbands click here. The metal pan players discovered that the raised areas of the metal containers made a different sound to those areas that were flat. These early metal pan bands were a rustic combination of a wide variety of metallic containers and kitchen utensils which were struck with open hands, fists or sticks. The bamboo tubes were eventually abandoned and replaced by the metal instruments. However, by the 1930’s these metal instruments dominated the tamboo bamboo bands.
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Non-traditional instruments like scrap metal, metal containers, graters and dustbins were also used in tamboo bamboo bands.