Take a moment to imagine the vibrant sound of the steel drums … does it put you in mind of a tropical vacation?
We may think of the steel drums, or steelpans, as festive―and they are!―but their origin is quite a bit more serious.
During the early 20th century, British colonial authorities had banned the traditional drumming that slaves from Africa had brought to the island nation of Trinidad and Tobago. Looking for a new form of creative expression, Trinidadians experimented with other types of percussion instruments.
Discarded oil barrels turned out to be a great raw material, as crude oil production in the country hit 10 million barrels in 1930. That’s a lot of cans.
The industrial cans were transformed, eventually being reborn as steelpans. The musician can play different areas of these carefully tuned instruments to produce different notes. A typical steelpan has an impressive 28 to 32 notes, giving the instrumentalist an impressive range, as well as the ability to play a wide variety of musical styles.
Steelpan is actually not a single instrument, but a family of percussion instruments that look and behave similarly. Each has a distinct range and role: for example, the “tenor” pan often takes lead, while the midrange “guitar” steelpan typically provides harmonic support.
Today you can enjoy steelpan soloists, orchestras, and everything in between. A World Steelpan Day was even established in 2023. You’ll find steelpannists playing traditional Caribbean music, contemporary tunes, dance and party music, and even classical compositions.
For a firsthand experience of steelpans being expertly played in a variety of musical styles, be sure to get tickets for HCCO’s November 9 performance of Victor Provost (steelpans) and Alex Brown (piano). You can watch and listen to a preview on YouTube here.