Steel Drum
Steel drums are also known as steel pans. They are a musical instrument and a form of music that came from Trinidad and Tobago during the early 20th century. Steel drummers are called pannists. The steel drum is a hammered 55-gallon oil barrel that is tuned by hand to make the perfect musical tones. They are built using sheet metal that has 0.8 mm and 1.5 mm thickness. Traditionally, they were built from used oil barrels. The drums used to be shaped like a dome rather than a dish. There are many different kinds of instruments that make up the family of the steel band instruments. In the beginning, they consisted of one resonance body only and they were called Around the neck instruments. Later on, they became chromatic. Steel drums are hit by a pair of sticks that are tipped with rubber. Some of the musicians use four sticks to hit the drum. They hold two in each hand. This instrument is the National Instrument of Trinidad and Tobago.
During the late 1800’s, on the island of Trinidad, under the British Colonial rule, hand drums were used as a neighborhood gang call. In 1886, to stop the violence, the government outlawed hand drums. This led to the creation of the Steel Drum.
Steel Drum sticks
After they were outlawed, the Trini musicians started to form bands called Tamboo Bamboo. Each member would hold a piece of bamboo and pound it on the ground. Each unique rhythmic signature would represent each neighborhood. When two bands meet together on a march, they stopped playing and started attacking each other. The government then decided to outlaw the bamboo bands as well. Without having drums to play on to make music, the musicians tapped and drummed on milk cans, paint buckets, old car parts, and empty oil barrels.
In the late 1930’s, a musical player named Winston “Spree” Simon was fixing his barrel head after an Iron Band session and he discovered that the dented part on his drum made a fascinating sound. After discovering this sound, he played with it all night and by the next day, he came up with four different tones. He was credited for being the first one to create the first tones on a steel drum.
Another musical player during the 1930’s was Ellie Mannette and he was the first person to give the steel pan its mature form. He was known as the father of the modern steel pan instrument. During the years, many tuners started to experiment with the drums and in time, large groups of drum players turned into orchestrated bands.
Ellie Mannette
Musical competitions started each year at a carnival and it replaced the street fights. In 1963, the first Panorama Steel Band Championship was part of the island’s Independence celebration. There are two contests that are held at Panorama, one is for the best arrangement of a popular song and the other contest shows each of the bands performing an orchestrated classical piece.
The first contest was held in the 1960’s, and for more than a half century, the rivalries between the neighborhood steel bands are continuing to this day. Instead of fighting in the streets, they battle it out with music.
I picked this object to talk about because one of my favorite instruments is a drum. I’ve always liked the sound that came from the steel drum and I’ve always wanted to learn more about it. I like how the music is so upbeat and exciting.
Sources:
Wikipedia.com. “Steel pan”, April 22, 2010. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steel_drum (accessed April 22, 2010).
Wikipedia.com. “Ellie Mannette”, April 1, 2010. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ellie_Mannette (accessed April 22, 2010).
When Steel Talks. “Concert in honor of Ellie Mannette”, 2008. http://www.panonthenet.com/news/2008/mar/pan_concert_3-31-08.htm (accessed April 22, 2010).
Toucans.net. “Steel Pan History”, 2010. https://classes.uaf.edu/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab_id=_2_1&url=%2fwebapps%2fblackboard%2fexecute%2flauncher%3ftype%3dCourse%26id%3d_60839_1%26url%3d (accessed April 22, 2010).
Kakesa.com. 2003. http://kakesa.com/catalog/default.php?cPath=16&sort=2a&page=2 (accessed April 22, 2010).
YouTube Steel Drum links:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H-bTMbePj0A&feature=related (Under the Sea: Little Mermaid)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mQu5Unc_TNY (Making a Steel Drum)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6IAteD9IiLs (Mario on Steel Drums)
Llvonborstel1989's Blog 
This is a very nice blog. I liked how you covered the history of steel drums and i also liked how you talked about influential drummers. Why were they called “around the neck”? Were they placed around the neck or were they held by a strap around the neck? Some further information on this would be nice. I also noticed that you did not include why you chose this topic and you also did not include what is your aesthetic reaction to steel drums. This is important because this is an aesthetic appreciation class and that information is vital to your blogs. IF you can please include those then this blog would be perfect. Thanks-
Dale
Today, steel drums are placed on metal stands, unless you are in one of the old school bands. The smaller drums are strapped on around the players neck, hence “pan around the neck.”