The Caribbean
Zone
is listed in the Arizona Commission on the Arts Artist Roster.
The Steel Pan
Out of a tradition less than sixty years old, a pan vocabulary
has emerged.
Out of a resourceful, free, and poor people, sprang a language so literal and honest, it could have been mistaken for crude and quaint.
The language of pan reflects the movement of pan. Starting at the grassroots level, the first pan was simply, a duhdup. What else would you call an instrument with two bass notes, one higher than the other, one sounding like duh and the other like dup? And what would you expect from pioneers, who knew nothing about music, except the songs passed on orally by combined ethnic groups, and the sense of rhythm unique to the Caribbean. This 1950s invention, appeared at a time when music with which poor people entertained themselves, came literally from iron, bottle-and-spoon and bamboo and the names for their instruments came directly from the sound that they made.
Most of these peculiar instruments are found in a steelpan orchestra, in the rhythm section, otherwise known as the engine room or the riddum Iron is a very distinctive carnival sound that survived decades of development. The iron rim of a car tire is held between your wrist and elbow and knocked in a fast monotonous time, with a skinny piece of steel. It is just one of the constant, potent beats you hear during a tune.
The sound of toc-toc, is that of a metal cow-bell, which keeps the pace for the entire band to follow. This is the beat you hear before a band starts to play: It gives the players their cue and reminds them of their timing. A scratcher is a type of grater made especially for steelbands. It is scratched with a metal afro-comb and makes it sound like a tambourine.
Around the 1970s, cymbals, tambourines, and several types of drums were introduced to complement pan as part of the percussion section. Individual pans, were designed out of necessity, to imitate the functions of the instruments in a conventional orchestra, and were thus called after their namesakes. So that the strumming of the stringed instruments are re-created by the Guitar and Cello Pans. The "duddup" evolved into the Bass Pan and now comes in sets of four, six, nine and twelve. The sound of the saxophone though, comes form the Seconds Pan. The Tenor, the most known pan, duplicates the soprano nature of the trumpet. It is on this pan, that the pannist carries his melody.
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Tenor Pan
Also known as the lead, soprano or melody pan, this drum traditionally carries the melody of the steel drum orchestra.
Double Second Pan Set
Comprises two pans which accompanies the melody with relative chords. The alto voice in an orchestra. Also plays melody, countermelody and harmony parts with a mellow tonal character.
THE STEEL PAN
By G. A. Prospect
The Story of the evolution, development and History of the Steel-Pan in Trinidad and Tobago is one of the most fascinating in musical History. The Steel-Pan dates back to the 1930's when it gradually replaced the very popular Tamboo Bamboo Band, which was purely a rhythmic ensemble, accompanied by a Soloist or Chantwell and chorus.
A Tamboo Bamboo Band consists of joints of bamboo cut into various sizes and known as Cutters, Chandlers, Fullers and Basses.
During World War II, Carnival celebrations in Trinidad and Tobago was banned for security reasons but the experimentation on Pans continued in and around the backyards in Port of Spain and the suburban areas.
May 8th 1945, was a turning point in the History of the Steel-Pan. It was (V.E. day) Victory in Europe, all the church bells were ringing and sirens blowing, signifying the end of the war. The people having not celebrated carnival for five years, welcomed the opportunity to parade the streets, rejoicing over the surrender of Hitler's Armies.
Tamboo Bamboo instruments that were hidden away in all corners were brought out into the streets beating their calypso rhythms and singing instantaneous verses. As the celebrations continued, the old Tamboo Bamboo instruments began to burst and so, the revelers quickly replaced them with anything they could lay their hands on. It was old pots, old cans, pans, dustbins, Brake-hubs, biscuit drums etc. During and after the celebrations many discoveries were made and so, Bands were formed all over Trinidad and Tobago experimenting and planning for the carnival celebrations of 1946.
There were many claims to discoveries of one kind or another but some of the best known pioneers which stand out today are; Winston (Spree) Simon leading the Destination Tokyo from John John, Elli Mannette leading the Woodbrook Invaders, Neville Jules of All Stars from Hell yard in Port of Spain, Anthony Williams leading the Pan Am North Stars from St. James and Bertie Marshall leader of the Forsyte Highlanders from Lavantille and of course, many other talented young men all over the country. The majority of early Steel-Pan men were not trained musicians but they had over the years, painstakingly carved discarded drums into crude musical instruments.
For the 1946 carnival celebration, Bands appeared very organized, bearing names from the films of the period; Red Army, Cross of Loraine, Casablanca, Invaders, Desperadoes, Destination Tokyo, Rising Sun, Five Graves to Cairo, Battan, Tripoli and others. Their Pans were cut into various sizes and shapes with their surfaces beaten for the first time in a convex shape. They were grooved, tempered and tuned with names like the Ping Pong, Seconds, Strummers, Grundig, Dudup, Boom and Kettles, being carried slung around the neck or shoulders.
Through the years steady progress were made to enhance and improve the tonal quality, Design and pitch of all instruments. Today, the Steel-Band has a general compass of about five fully chromatic Octaves and seven distinct sections representing Soprano, Alto, Tenor and Bass, capable of performing music from our Calypsoes to Classics.