At the heart of the steel drum musical revolution is the remarkable way in which steel pans are tuned. Rather than just adjust fundamental pitches like most every other major instrument, steel drum tuners achieve the shimmering and buoyant sound of the steel pan by careful tuning of the fundamental plus the harmonic overtone partials (high pitches that sound very lightly as bell like tones above each note). They must do this while maintaining the proper shape, height and tension of a note to very exacting tolerances or the sound quality of that note will suffer dramatically. In a broader sense, the steel pan instrument is being tuned during much of the crafting process, since the principles and some of the tuning techniques are applied at different stages of the process. Most often, a steel pan is made from a 55 gallon steel drum barrel. The top of the barrel is sunk to create a concave playing surface. It then goes through a series of steps, each of which must be executed in just the … [Read more...]
New Developments in Steel Pans
When steel pans were first made in the middle of the 20th century, there was very rapid development of the instruments in the steel drum family. Before steel pans were made, older style steel bands played all manner of steel objects for carnival in Trinidad and competed with each other very keenly. Soon after the first steel drum instruments burst onto the scene, the various bands were very passionate about their use. They competed with each other to build better sounding ones for use in competition and during carnival time. This meant many people worked on the development of steel pan simultaneously. Over the years, there was hard won and consistent improvements in sound quality, note placement patterns and many other improvements for each individual voice in the steel pan instrument family. This was because some very brilliant minds applied themselves to the task, but also because a large number of people selflessly worked to bring the steel pan instrument forward. There … [Read more...]
The Unique Sound of Steel Pan
Around the world, people are fascinated with the unique character of the sound that a steel pan musical instrument produces. The creation of the steel drum family of instruments, beginning in the middle of the 20th century in Trinidad, is a major musical achievement. New acoustic sounds that have enough appeal to be adopted usefully into many musical forms are very rare. To find proof of the stature that the steel pan has claimed in such a relatively short period of time, one has only to look at the dedication of the countless musicians who have enthusiastically embraced the steel drum and learned to play it. Steel pan tuners, builders, composers, arrangers and band leaders continue the hard work to bring their art to higher and higher levels. Their vitality and resourcefulness in establishing steel pan have helped it to take its place amongst the other important musical instruments internationally. When steel drums were first made and played as pitched instruments, the … [Read more...]
The Care of a Steel Pan Instrument
Keep your steel pan dry. You should be diligent about preventing rust formation which can ruin your steel drum instrument. Many musicians wipe the instrument dry with a soft cloth following every practice or performance, removing moisture from rain, condensation, perspiration,etc.. A steel pan with a chrome finish should be cleaned once or twice yearly with chrome polish. The application should be a thin layer of polish on the notes and skirt. Lightly buff after a few minutes (after haze forms). Take care as rubbing very hard can detune a note on your steel drum or even remove some of the chrome finish. Tune your steel pan annually by a professional tuner. It can be tuned more often depending on how much it is played and your personal sound requirements, but too much tuning will decrease the life expectancy of your steel pan. For this reason, many people wait for one year, as a rule of thumb, to tune their steel drum. Unless you are a tuner, you cannot tune your own … [Read more...]
The Full Voice Steel Pan Orchestra
In a full voice steel drum band, more steel pan instrument types are utilized to maximize the expressive capabilities of the ensemble. The four voice steel band has Leads (also known as Tenors), Double Seconds, Cellos/Guitars and Basses. The most common additions to a four voice band to make it full voice are the Double Tenors and Tenor Bass steel pans. The Double Tenor is in the same range as a Double Second since it most often has F below middle C as the lowest note. While it also has all the notes on two steel drum barrels, it has a different note pattern and a distinct sound as compared to the Double Second steel pan. The outer rim notes on the steel drum are grooved with a more square shape rather than the oval shape seen on most steel pan notes. This was an innovation of Bertie Marshall of Trinidad, who is a great master tuner and the most important creator of the modern harmonically rich sound of steel pan instruments. The squaring off of the note shapes gives the … [Read more...]
The Steel Pan Instrument Family
The steel drum instrument family is comprised of different instruments in different ranges. In the soprano range, there is a Lead pan (also called a Tenor pan). This is similar to a flute, trumpet, or soprano sax, with its lowest note at middle C and rising chromatically two and one half octaves. The Lead pan is the main melody voice of the steel pan orchestra. They are tuned in the cycle of fifths, which is a consistent arrangement of notes that places notes that are most consonant to each other next to each other. This makes chord and scale patterns the same for the player in all 12 keys. Like an alto saxophone, the Double Second steel pan is also in the alto range. They are two and a half to three octaves chromatic and it takes two barrels to hold all of the notes of a Double Second. Each barrel of this steel pan is tuned to a whole tone scale. The six notes of each whole tone scale make up the twelve notes found in a chromatic scale. While still an effective melody … [Read more...]
The Steel Drum Movement – Part I
The steel pan, commonly referred to as the “steel drum,” is recognized worldwide as the most important acoustic instrument to be developed since the 1800’s and the only family of instruments to be invented since then. The origin of the steel pan dates back to 1940’s Trinidad. Today there are thousands of steel drum bands worldwide, many of which comprise over 100 players performing full symphonic works, jazz, calypso, and other music from around the world. In the United States, a recent phenomenon has been the formation of many large steel drum orchestras that serve as not-for-profit community institutions that are also dedicated to serving and uplifting economically disadvantaged neighborhoods. While the strikingly beautiful sound of the steel pan draws participants from all ages and races, the core of most of these orchestras are youth and teenagers who feel cultural pride in being able to express music on the steel drum instrument which was recently developed by peoples whose … [Read more...]
The Steel Drum Movement – Part II
Many localities in the United States and elsewhere around the world have small steel pan performing ensembles, which are typically two to six members. These small steel drum bands often play for weddings, barbecues, private parties, corporate events, and other occasions that require steel band entertainment. Their repertoire focuses mainly on more recognizable songs in the styles of calypso, soca, and reggae. In the United States, some of these small steel drum bands also include American beach music and other types of popular music that they restyle into calypso or reggae. A six piece band of this sort might have two or three steel drum performers plus a rhythm section of a drum set player, conga or percussion player, and usually electric bass. The steel pan bass instrument, called a six bass, has six full size barrels and it’s often too difficult to transport and could take up too much space in small performing situations. Hence, the electric bass is a good musical substitute for the … [Read more...]
The Steel Drum Movement – Part III
There are many individuals in steel pan that play mostly for their own enjoyment, much like a pianist or guitarist who makes music mostly in their own home. Some use “music minus one” backing tracks while they perform the melody on their steel pan. Others might play classical pieces, gospel music, as well as jazz and popular tunes in a solo style. While they may not experience the thrill of performing in a steel drum ensemble, they derive enjoyment and relaxation from playing alone on the steel pan. For many younger players, the purchase of their own steel drum instrument gives them a learning advantage over players who only perform in ensembles and can only access the instrument during rehearsal. Also, these players sometimes do not play at all when school is out of session or when a band is not preparing for carnival. This could interrupt the musical development of the student. The newer generation of players in Trinidad, the US, and Europe learn music notation as a student would … [Read more...]
