dimanche 3 avril 2016

Be Different With Steel Pan Music

By Donald Williams


Music had changed so much over time. But the love of the people for it remains unmatched among the rest in art. Whether you are working or taking a break from it, you would want your headset on or turn the radio on to tune in to a station playing your favorite songs. Wherever you go, be it in coffee shops or just any store, you will still hear it playing.

Over the years, it has evolved, as well as how people create it with the instrument of their choice. Most have went on to become acclaimed guitarists of the world, others have explored classical, delving into the use of violins, piano and cello. Still others have preferred creating like steel pan music.

The instrument itself has a shiny metal surface with a series of dents hammered to it. Each of them gives out a different note. That is, different ones that are around it, based on positions and size. You will often see them as fifty five gallon oil drums that can be deafening if you did not appreciate a littler noise in songs that much.

Sometimes referred to as steel drums, they emerged somewhere in the nineteen thirties. Some metal objects like paint pots, including car parts, dust bins and oil drums were widely used as percussion instruments but somehow, artists found a way to tune them. Over the years, there have been several version of its development that it is difficult to get the exact date.

They wanted to accompany the carnival music with some kind of rhythm playing in their minds. They wanted to experiment with banned tools, and so experiment they did. It was some stroke of good luck that finally made them create drums that they were able to tune and produce notes with. And the rest, as they say is history.

What makes it such a hit especially among those who likes hearing percussion, is its ability to be versatile. It can play anything from acoustic to calypso and even a Bach symphony. Bands formed from it gained international success when they were introduced one day in the fiftys at a British event.

After that, it had become an accepted not only in the music industry but as an art form as well. That had been a defining moment for the island it had came from because steel band was identified as a big part of its culture. Rightfully so, the pans became their national instrument. They later on played a big role in the independence of Trinidad.

Aside from that, the infectious and irresistible sound of the music swept the British off their feet, making it gain international attention. Later on, the pan was accepted as one art form that cannot be ignored. It also lead many years later, to the making of an international festival highlighting their bands.

Being an integral part of social life, even everyday life, there seems to be no end as to how songs or rhythm in instruments like steel drums will be created. It is part of the culture and identity of almost any country. And the pan is one nice lesson to remember how it can be as revolutionary as it is artistic.




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