Steel Pan Historyand Evolutionwww.stefanwalcott.com

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TrinidadTrinidad is where pan was born and grew up.

By the beginning of the nineteenth century, Trinidad had developed into a full-scale plantation society structured by hegemonic European derived cultural traditions and alternative African-derived traditions." (Stuempfle 14).

The high points of Afro-Trinidadian social life were the dances held during periods outside the plantation work routine: times of leisure (Saturday nights and Sundays) or times of festivity (especially Christmas and Easter)." (Stuempfle 15).

A perspectiveThe various legends about the origin of the steelband cannot be verified, but they are suggestive of the types of chance occurrences that may have encouraged the use of metallic percussion." (Stuempfle 33)

Just as it is difficult to pinpoint an original steelband, it is unlikely that any particular individual can be designated as the first person to tune notes on a pan." (Stuempfle37).

However, there is a general consensus that Alexander's Ragtime Band first came out with untuned pans, which suggests that Wilson's 'notes' were perhaps originally simply rough variations in pitch which he subsequently developed." (Stuempfle 38).

Tamboo BambooSteel pan men and the movement came out of the tamboo bamboo bands.

Tamboo' came from the French for drum, tambour." (Batson 196).

The bull became the boom; 5 feet long and 5 inches wide, it was stamped on the ground and became the bass. The foulé, middle mother, kept its name and character, now broken into two pieces of bamboo each 12 inches long, 2 to 3 inches thick and struck together end to end. The cutter still improvised, now made of thin pieces of bamboo of different lengths, held on the shoulder and struck with a stick (Gonzalez 1978). (Batson 197)

Suggestion for TransitionThe bamboo voice, while strong, was found to be easily stilled as the bamboo would burst after repeated pounding. In the search for a louder and longer-lasting sound, young men added metal to the bands. They found that pitches could be made and changed by constant beating. All manner of sound makers were sought: brake drums from cars, dustbin tops stolen from housewives, paint cans, cement drums, cow bells, chac-chacs, and mouth bands (where all the sounds of a brass band were recreated using only the mouth - sometimes real brass buglers played at the front of the bands). (Batson 197)

Metal emerges In this way, a louder, more durable and more tuneful sound was created. The bamboo was discarded. The rhythms of the drum ensemble were incorporated into these steelbands viewing with each other throughout the island. Simultaneously, persons found that notes could be created on these metal cans and old biscuit tins. One-, two-, and three-note instruments were created. In 1939 and 1940 Alexander's Ragtime Band was the most popular of the new metal bands. (Batson 197)

Spree Simon and MannetteIn the course of the 1940s the basic steelband was expanded and tremendous advancements were made in the tuning (fashioning) of pans. The most important breakthrough was the development of the ping pong, which replaced the kittle as the lead pan. Spree Simon was one of the key innovators of and performers on this instrument." (Stuempfle 40).

Another ping pong pioneer was Ellie Mannette who was a member of Oval Boys." (Stuempfle 40).

Getting Organised and Tapso"In 1951 the Youth Council sponsored a national steelband of eleven members selected from the best pan men in the country to perform at the Festival of Britain. Rehearsals were held for the first time under a qualified musician, Sergeant Joseph Griffith, who was director of music in St Lucia and a former member of the Trinidad Police Band." (Batson 201).

instruments were chromaticized, simple orchestral scores arranged, and the panmentaught to read a score with the note names identified by Arabic numerals. The band, the Trinidad All Steel Percussion Orchestra (TASPO), debuted at an open-air performance on the South Bank Exhibition Ground on July 26, 1951." (Batson 202).

Members of TAPSOThe success of TASPO improved the image of the steelband movement in Trinidad. Among the members of the original TASPO was Ellie Mannette, who in his zeal to return to Trinidad to continue work on the instruments turned down the offer of a music scholarship in England. Mannette now teaches and works on the research and development of the instrument at the University of West Virginia in the United States. Sterling Betancourt stayed in England and in 2002 received an MBE for his sterling work in the development of the instrument. (An MBE is a British honour - Member of the Order of the British Empire.) Anthony Williams invented the spider web pan which is today used as the basis of the fourths and fifths tenor. Other members were Dudley Smith, Patsy Haynes, and Granville Sealey, who still plays pan at the Deliverance Temple in Port of Spain. (Batson 202)

OrganisationThe Steelband Association was later renamed the National Association of Trinidad and Tobago Steelbandsmen and finally in 1971 renamed Pan Trinbago, today under the leadership of Tobagonian Patrick Arnold." (Batson 202).

Mention, for instance, the defunct Sun Valley steelband to any aficionado, and he will recall how the band won the first island-wide competition in 1946." (Johnson 208).

PanoramaThe Panorama steelbands usually ranged in size from fifty to one hundred members or, at the height, one hundred and twenty. Panorama arrangers with a proven track record became viable" (Batson 203).

ArrangersRay Holman, one of the first to write and arrange his own music, Len "Boogsie" Sharpe, a phenomenal player, arranger, and composer, Jit Samaroo, whose work with his family band Samaroo Jets and the Renegades Steel Orchestra has won him international kudos, and Clive Bradley, gifted teacher and brilliant arranger. Tuners such as Bertram Kelman, Bertie Marshall, Tony Slater, the late Leo Coker, Roland Harrigan, Michael Kernahan, and others have been and are in demand as bands struggle to achieve a good sound. (Batson 203)

EvolutionPan has evolved over the years and is now played globally.

SourcesBatson, Dawn. “Voices of Steel : A Historical Perspective” Carnival: Culture in Action : the Trinidad Experience. Milla C. Riggio. New York: Routledge, 2004. 195-203. Internet resource.

Cowley, John. Carnival, Canboulay, and Calypso: Traditions in the Making. Cambridge [England: Cambridge University Press, 1996. Print.

Johnson, Kim. “Notes on Pan” Carnival: Culture in Action : the Trinidad Experience. Milla C. Riggio. New York: Routledge, 2004. 204-212. Internet resource.

Stuempfle, Stephen. The Steelband Movement: The Forging of a National Art in Trinidad and Tobago. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1995. Print.