4/04/2016

Making Magic In Steel Pan Music

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.

Over the years, it has evolved, as well as how people create it with the instrument of their choice. Most have went on to become acclaimed guitarists of the world, others have explored classical, delving into the use of violins, piano and cello. Still others have preferred creating like steel pan music.

The instrument itself has a shiny metal surface with a series of dents hammered to it. Each of them gives out a different note. That is, different ones that are around it, based on positions and size. You will often see them as fifty five gallon oil drums that can be deafening if you did not appreciate a littler noise in songs that much.

Dating back to the nineteen thirtys, the pans did not have it easy, originating in the Carribean island of Trinidad. This was when African slaves or descendants wanted so badly to express themselves and their music, by normally beating on metals. Hoping to find rhythms and the right kind of harmony, they were clamoring to find a way to match the songs at carnivals.

They wanted to accompany the carnival music with some kind of rhythm playing in their minds. They wanted to experiment with banned tools, and so experiment they did. It was some stroke of good luck that finally made them create drums that they were able to tune and produce notes with. And the rest, as they say is history.

But even that had not been enough to avoid clashes between groups and enthusiasts, resulting in violence. Thankfully, it did not went on for long because as pioneers excelled in developing it, horizons had been brighter and steel drums suddenly had a good future ahead and along with other genres. Even the war could not stop people from appreciating it.

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.

Aside from that, the infectious and irresistible sound of the music swept the British off their feet, making it gain international attention. Later on, the pan was accepted as one art form that cannot be ignored. It also lead many years later, to the making of an international festival highlighting their bands.

The kind of music it creates is hard to resist and so infectious you would not want to stop dancing to its beat. You would not want to ignore its uninhibited feel because there is just nothing like it. A break from the usual electronic beats of the radio and too much mainstreaming, this is perfect for those who really who wants a good calm but cool days.




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