1/21/2016

Bringing Out The Musician In You Through Steel Pan Music

By Joshua Reed


School competitions are coming up and this year you want to participate in a music festival. You found out that almost all kinds of known instruments have been taken. And you wonder what kind of unique instrument you will play to impress the school.

For many oppressed races music was a form of escape. It helped people to cope with difficult and stressful situations placed on them by authoritative figures. That is why many cultures developed their musical instruments to accompany them like the Trinidad steel pan music.

This instrument emerges from Trinidad in the 1930s and called as tamboo bamboo. The late 1700s brought African slaves to the shores of Trinidad where French planters often celebrated a tradition similar to the carnival. However the slaves had their own version using drum tune, and by the time of emancipation these celebrations became more colorful and livelier.

Today these are made through molding it into a shape similar to a bowl with the aid of air pressure or hammers. Then on the surface note patterns are marked after which it is tempered and initial tuning happens. In this step the tuning of the drum is improved, and often uses a strobe tuner.

Not only does it signify the cultural identity of developed by the former slaves of Trinidad. Today it is now part of the local music scene and has evolved from the Tamboo bamboos which is made from bamboo wood fashioned into a stick that can produce sounds and play tunes. Playing this required it to be hit on the ground, and produced sound when hit by other sticks.

There are other notable people who have helped improve this line. But without the musicians who made it possible to play these things then it would not have been made. Instruments like these were usually played around the neck, which means a long strap that held this drum were placed near the neck to prevent it from falling.

Every good musician must learn how to play an instrument correctly. Because it helps them play the tunes precisely and produce the best music for the audience to appreciate, but knowing the right position and handling as well as the care of an instrument can improve the usage over time. Starting with position most players stand with feet shoulder wide apart, so that body weight can be distributed evenly.

A good way to become an efficient player is to practice proper positioning. This means that the best sounds produced stem from good posture and correct body movements. The hands are essential in this so it must be place nearest to the surface of the drum.

Depending on the size the grip is loose when the object is bigger and tighter when the it is smaller. Strokes come in two strokes such as the piston and flick. The wrists help the sticks move, once the stick hits the object it should be retracted after the impact to produce sound. Leaving it on the object longer will produce a mute. The piston stroke starts at the upright position of the hand then is pulled down at a 180 degree angle.




About the Author:



No comments:

Post a Comment