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.
There are at least 14 known instruments such like the ping pong having a pitch around soprano. This was conceptualized by Winston Simon, but most of the instruments found were made by Ellie Mannette. Who created invader lead, double second, quadduet, tripple guitar, cello, tenor bass, and six bass.
There are other notable people who have helped improve this line. But without the musicians who made it possible to play these things then it would not have been made. Instruments like these were usually played around the neck, which means a long strap that held this drum were placed near the neck to prevent it from falling.
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.