Wednesday, January 27, 2016

Bringing Out The Musician In You Through Steel Pan Music

By Joshua Reed


Music has dominated the human species since the dawn of time. Music was used in many tribal communities to represent stages of life and victories. With appropriate music being played on funerals, so does birthdays and celebrations. And many ways that music is produced sometimes the sound of nature is good enough while creating a piece of melody can also suffice.

Music is a culture identity people associate with to become closer with their race. And one of these identity is using steel pan music but sometimes called as steel drum. These were made from many parts mainly pots used for paint, dust bins, and other tins and containers.

This instrument appeared during a time when French planters move to Trinidad during the 1789 French revolution, and with them came the slaves to work in their fields. Since the slaves could not participate in the local carnival festival they made their own version called canboulay. But by 1880 these were band due to the riots that emerge from these.

Not many did not play the steelpan because it was often associated with outlaws. But after many years of development it has slowly found its place among other instruments. Also there are many other types of steelpan that have been developed over the years.

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.

When a steelpan becomes out of tune it is usually caused by too much force and mishandling by the user. Most bands always fine tune their instruments every year, but looking for the right tuner is crucial. Because the person needs to be good at arranging and making notes sound correct and good, and usually tuning is done with hammers.

Playing these were either done standing with the help of a strap or seated in one area of the stage. However standing up the musician must be at least 4 to 5 inches away from body and pan with hands inserted in the drum. Keeping it close to the surface is essential for accuracy and speed.

Always keep the elbows near the waist level and evenly distribute body weight with your feet. Never shuffle your feet, but if you are having trouble reaching for a note then pivoting from the waist, leaning, and bending are also acceptable. Having a good grip on the sticks used to produce the sound means holding the stick similar to a magic wand.

While the body should be four to five inches away from the skirt of the steel pan. This allows the musician to lean or pivot during play and will also help them bend their knees a little especially when reaching for hard to reach notes. There are other kinds of pans available such as the mid range and background types where the same positioning are used but the difference here is that the body must be allowed to move and never touch the drum.




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