Steelpan (also known as steeldrums or pans, and sometimes collectively with the musicians as a steelband) is a musical instrument and a form of music originating in Trinidad and Tobago. Steelpan musicians are called pannists. The Caribbean state of Trinidad and Tobago is best known as the homeland of calypso music, including 1950s stars Lord Kitchener and Mighty Sparrow. ... Canboulay is a Caribbean Carnival celebration held on Trinidad. ... Calypso is a style of Afro-Caribbean music which originated in Trinidad at about the start of the 20th century. ... Chutney music is a form of music indigenous to the southern Caribbean (primarily Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana and Suriname) which derives elements from soca and Indian filmi songs. ... A Calypsonian is a musician, usually from Trinidad, who has studied calypso and memorised its traditional tunes and stanzas. ... Calypso tents are venues in which calypsonians perform during the Carnival season. ... Light comical banter, usually at someone elses expense. ... Parang is a musical style which fuses together Venezuelan and Calypso influences to create up beat tempos with a Spanish style and is popular in Trinidad & Tobago and various areas of Venezuela. ... Soca, or soul calypso, is a dance music that originated in Trinidad from calypso. ... Rapso is a form of Trinidadian music that grew out of the social unrest of the 1970s. ... Pichakaree (or pichakaaree) is an Indo-Trinidadian musical form which originated in Trinidad and Tobago. ... 1966 in music Download sample of Alton Ellis rocksteady track Girl Youve Got a Date. Download sample of Cincinatti Kid by Prince Buster, a legendary ska artist. ... The Cayman Islands are a Caribbean island chain, currently a territory of the United Kingdom. ... Timeline and Samples Pop genres Calypso - Chutney - Dancehall - Dub - Junkanoo - Ragga - Rapso - Reggae - Ripsaw - Rocksteady - Scratch - Ska - Soca - Spouge - Steelpan Other islands Aruba and the Dutch Antilles - Cuba - Dominica - Dominican Republic - Haiti - Martinique and Guadeloupe - Puerto Rico - Saint Lucia The Turks and Caicos Islands are an overseas dependency of the... Aruba and the five main islands of the Netherlands Antilles are part of the Lesser Antilles island chain. ... The former French colonies of Martinique and Guadeloupe are small islands in the Caribbean. ... “Instrumentalist” redirects here. ... The following is a list of musical instruments, categorized by section. ... For other uses, see Music (disambiguation). ... A pannist is a person who plays the steelpan. ...

The pan is a pitched percussion instrument, tuned chromatically (although some toy or novelty steelpans are tuned diatonically), made from a 55 gallon drum of the type that stores oil. In fact, drum refers to the steel drum containers from which the pans are made; the steel drum is correctly called a steelpan or pan as it falls into the Idiophone family of instruments, and is not technically regarded as a drum or Membranophone. Pitch is the perceived fundamental frequency of a sound. ... “Percussion” redirects here. ... The chromatic scale is a scale with twelve pitches, each a semitone or half step apart. ... In music theory, a diatonic scale (from the Greek diatonikos, to stretch out; also known as the heptatonia prima; set form 7-35) is a seven-note musical scale comprising five whole-tone and two half-tone steps, in which the half tones are maximally separated. ... A typical drum A 44 gallon drum (known as a 55 gallon drum in the United States) is a cylindrical metal container (drum) with a nominal capacity of 44 imperial gallons, 55 U.S. gallons or 205 litre. ... Synthetic motor oil An oil is any substance that is in a viscous liquid state (oily) at ambient temperatures or slightly warmer, and is both hydrophobic (immiscible with water, literally water fearing) and lipophilic (miscible with other oils, literally fat loving). This general definition includes compound classes with otherwise unrelated... An idiophone is any musical instrument which creates sound primarily by way of the instrument vibrating itself, without the use of strings or membranes. ... Bass drum made from wood, rope, and cowskin A drum is a musical instrument in the percussion group that can be large, technically classified as a membranophone. ... A membranophone is any musical instrument which produces sound primarily by way of a vibrating stretched membrane. ...

Origins

The steel pan evolved out of earlier musical practices of Trinidad's enslaved Africans and Afro-descendants. Drumming was used as a form of communincation among the enslaved Afrikans and was subsequently outlawed. Through their innovativeness and determination, they went through a series of musical alternatives from slavery to emancipation, using whatever materials they could find to construct musical instruments. It was therefore a specific cultural response to the specific demographic conditions present on the islands. Eventually, someone picked up a biscuit tin and realised its potential. From then, it developed further, moving on to an oil drum. In its contemporary form, it first arose in the 1930s and was developed largely during World War II. The first record of a pan band in the press appeard in a report of the Trinidad and Tobago Carnival in the Trinidad Guardian dated Tuesday, February 6, 1940. Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000... Carnival in Trinidad and Tobago is the event of the year! It is often said that if the islanders are not celebrating it then they are preparing for it while reminiscing about the past years festival. ... The Trinidad Guardian (together with the Sunday Guardian) is the oldest daily newspaper in Trinidad and Tobago. ... is the 37th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1940 (MCMXL) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full 1940 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Steelband, Port of Spain, early 1950s

The BP Renegades Steel Orchestra

One of the oldest steelbands in the world is The Neal & Massy Trinidad All-Stars, which celebrated its 72nd anniversary in 2007. Image File history File linksMetadata Steelband_1950s. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Steelband_1950s. ... Image File history File links BPRenegades. ... Image File history File links BPRenegades. ...

Early bands were essentially rhythm bands. However, during the 1940s discarded 44-gallon steel oil drums became the preferred type of pan and, perhaps noticing that constant drumming changed the tone of the pans, techniques were developed to tune them to enable melodies to be played. During WWII, tamboo bamboo bands, who usually performed during Trinidad's Carnival began using steel drums discarded by the US military (see Destroyers for Bases Agreement) to make advanced versions of their instruments. Ellie Mannette is credited as the first person to use an oil drum in 1946. By the late 1940s the music had spread to neighbouring islands. Rhythm (Greek = flow, or in Modern Greek, style) is the variation of the length and accentuation of a series of sounds or other events. ... For other uses, see Steel (disambiguation). ... “bbl” redirects here. ... Carnival in Trinidad and Tobago is the event of the year! It is often said that if the islanders are not celebrating it then they are preparing for it while reminiscing about the past years festival. ... i love my mother The Destroyers for Bases Agreement between the United States and the United Kingdom, September 2, 1940, transferred fifty destroyers from the United States Navy in exchange for land rights on British possessions. ... Ellie Mannette, known as the father of the modern steel drum instrument, is one of the worlds premiere steel drum builders. ... Year 1946 (MCMXLVI) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full 1946 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

In 1951 the Trinidad All Steel Percussion Orchestra (TASPO) took the music to the Festival of Britain in the United Kingdom - pan music still features in the annual Notting Hill Carnival. Year 1951 (MCMLI) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Festival of Britain emblem, designed by Abram Games, from the cover of the South Bank Exhibition Guide, 1951 The Festival of Britain was a national exhibition which opened in London and around Britain in May 1951. ... Participant in Notting Hill Carnival parade Notting Hill Carnival is an annual event which takes place in Notting Hill, London, England each August, over two days (Sunday and the following bank holiday). ...

In 1957, Rear Admiral Daniel V. Gallery formed what became the US Navy Steel Band, which toured the world as ambassadors for the U.S. Navy until 1999. Year 1957 (MCMLVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link displays the 1957 Gregorian calendar). ... Daniel Vincent Gallery (1901–1977) was a distinguished officer in the United States Navy who saw extensive action during World War II. He fought in the Second Battle of the Atlantic, and his most notable achievement was the capture of the German submarine U-505, on June 4, 1944. ... The US Navy Steel Band was the first all-American and only military steel band. ... This article is about the year. ...

During the 1960s the tuner Anthony Williams developed a pan - the fourths and fifths - that has since become the standard design used today.

Two Americans, George Whitmyre and Harvey J. Price, have secured a US patent for "the process of formation of a Caribbean steelpan using a hydroforming press". This patent is being challenged by the Trinidad and Tobago Legal Affairs Ministry, since many Trinbagonian drum makers have used similar methods for years. Their pan making company, Hydroforming, has gone out of business.

Steelbands in the early years were looked down upon by upper class society, and the panplayers were seen as undesirables. This view has completely reversed to the point where there are many more church steelbands than conventional bands.

Construction

Wendell playing the double tenor steelpan

Pans are constructed by pounding the top of the oil drum into a bowl-like shape, known as "sinking" the drum. The drum is tempered over a fire until it is "white hot" and allowed to cool. Then the notes are laid out, shaped, grooved, and tuned with a variety of hammers and other tools. The note's size corresponds to the pitch - the larger the oval, the lower the tone. Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (2048 × 1536 pixel, file size: 1. ... Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (2048 × 1536 pixel, file size: 1. ...

The size of the instrument varies from one pan to another. It may have almost all of the "skirt" (the cylindrical part of the oil drum) cut off and around 30 soprano-range notes. It may use the entire drum with only 3 bass notes per pan, in which case one person may play 6 such pans. The length of the skirt generally corresponds to the tessitura (high or low range) of the drum. The pans may either be painted or chromed. This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Bright chrome is often used as a decorative feature on consumer products such as cars. ...

The pan family

A tenor pan from Tobago

There are 13 instruments in the pan family: Download high resolution version (350x654, 12 KB)Treble pan from Tobago. ... Download high resolution version (350x654, 12 KB)Treble pan from Tobago. ...

• Tenor/Lead (There are many variations of tenor pans: Spiderweb lead, 4ths and 5ths from C and D, 3rds and 5ths, invader, left handed, etc...)
• Double tenors
• (extensions can be added to form quadduet)
• Double guitars
• Quadrophonic (four pans)
• Triple guitars
• Cellos (Three and four pan variations)
• Six pan
• Tenor bass (Three and four pan variations)
• Six bass (and numerical variations)
• Seven bass
• Nine bass (with numerical variations up to 12)
• Twelve Bass
• Genesis Steel Pan ( newest variations launched in July 2007)

The future of pan

The world of steelpan is still thriving. Many ensembles have emerged in recent years which combine the steelpan with other styles of music. More and more artists have begun including the instrument in various genres of music.

From a classical perspective in December 2006, (Liam Teague) and the (Vermeer Quartet) performed Deborah Fischer Teason's five movement "Cadences" for tenor pan and string quartet at the Northern Illinois University concert hall on a program with Schubert's Quartettsatz in C minor and Beethoven's Quartet in A minor, Op 132. The concert was repeated at Chicago's Symphony Hall. Teague also premiered Jan Bach’s Concerto for Steelpan and Orchestra with the Chicago Symphonietta in 1995. Other works in this genre include a concerto for double tenor pan by (Rachel Hayward) which was premiered by the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain (1988). Many contemporary composers, such as Hans Werner Henze, Javier Alvarez, Simon Limbrick, Grisey, Brian Elias, Libby Larson and Felix Cross have also written pieces featuring solo steelpan parts. Famous Pan players include, Gary Gibson, Chris Tanner, Tom Miller, Len "Boogsie" Sharpe, Othello Molineaux, Jeff and Andy Narell, Aldon Moore, Jim Munzenrider, Robert Greenidge, Liam Teague, Alan Lightner, Ray Holman, Dave Longfellow, Naveia Daniel, Jonathan Scales, Victor Provost, and Russel Henderson.

Johann Chuckeree, an upcoming steelpan star, has been playing pan since a very young age and has adopted Boogise as his mentor. He has received training in playing multiple pan as well as arranging from Boogise.

Samples of the steelpan have been used in some prominent Southern rap songs in the United States over the last few years. Some of them include:

• Peanut Butter & Jelly - Cadillac Don & J-Money
• Ain't Gon Let Up - D. G. Yola
• Reppin' My Block - Rob G
• Crank That (Soulja Boy) - Soulja Boy
• Put Your Money - Ludacris & DMX

Cadillac Don (born Donald Sharp) and J-Money (born Tiyon Rogers) are a duo of Southern rap artists. ... Aint Gon Let Up is the first single by rapper D.G. Yola. ... D.G. Yola (born Mario Talley in 1985) is an American rapper based in the Deep South. ... Crank That (Soulja Boy) is the debut single from rapper Soulja Boy on his debut album Souljaboytellem. ... DeAndre Way (born on July 28, 1990 in Chicago, Illinois), better known by his stage name, Soulja Boy, is an American rapper, best known for the dance and song called Crank That (Soulja Boy). // DeAndre was born in Chicago, Illinois, and moved to Atlanta, Georgia at the age of six. ... “Luda” redirects here. ... Earl Simmons (born on December 18, 1970), better known by his stage name DMX, is an American rapper and actor who rose to popularity in the late-1990s. ...

See also

• List of musical genres
• List of musical instruments
• List of steelbands
• Hang Drum
• Caisa drum
• Manuel, Peter (2006). Caribbean Currents: Caribbean Music from Rumba to Reggae (2nd edition). Philadelphia: Temple University Press. ISBN 1-59213-463-7. 

See also: Genealogy of musical genres Music can be divided into genres in many different ways. ... The following is a list of musical instruments, categorized by section. ... This is a list of steelbands and steel orchestras, organised by country. ... Hang means hand in the Bernese German language, and is pronounced hung. ... The CAISA is an instrument made of steel, like a Steeldrum. ...

External links

• PanTrinbago The World Governing Body for Steelpan
• Review of Forty Years in the Steelbands by George Goddard
• Americans patent pan plan
• [1]
• Steel bands London