Originating sometime in the mid-1800s, the steel drum (or pan) has become an integral part of the Caribbean soundscape. Pan is the national instrument of Trinidad and Tobago, a country located in the Lesser Antilles. Although simple in its design, many hours are spent in shaping and hand-tuning 200-liter industrial steel drum containers into melodic and percussive instruments.
Hearing the ethereal overtones and bright timbre of rubber mallets on the steelpan can evoke memories of happy days spent at the beach for many, but how did such an unassuming instrument come to possess such transportive power? To understand how the mesmerizing and unique sound of this instrument came to be, we need to take a closer look at the struggles of the people who created it.
In the 1780s, French colonists brought enslaved West Africans of different tribes to Trinidad and Tobago to work on plantations. These plantation owners masqueraded as slaves in 1785 as part of the first Carnival celebration in Trinidad, banging on talking drums they had taken from their slaves, and disallowing Africans from participation. Because talking drums (read more about this on our website) were seen as potentially dangerous tools for long-distance communication, slaves were not allowed to play the music of their homeland, and often were forced to give up the use of their own native language as well. Undeterred, many slaves took up their own Carnival tradition in secret, wearing masks and feathers and beads and playing drums in private gatherings.
Even following the Slavery Abolition Act of 1834, restrictions on what instruments ex-slaves were allowed to play seemed only to increase. After the Canboulay harvest festival riots of 1881, stick-fighting and African percussion music were banned altogether. Hitting hollowed-out bamboo sticks against the ground for different percussive tones became a popular alternative, until this too was criminalized by the colonial masters.
Without access to the traditional instruments of their people, or even simple bamboo sticks, ex-slaves living in Trinidad turned to the only noise-makers they were allowed. Unthreatening household objects such as plates and utensils, frying pans, dustbin lids were repurposed as musical instruments. Oil trade in Venezuala also meant that steel drums were discarded around Trinidad and Tobago, which were quickly adopted into street performances by enterprising musicians (listen to more on this here). Over time, developments were made in the tonality of the oil drums as people discovered different tones could be created by hitting different parts of the metal. Because of the West African traditions of "being able to talk to each other through music" (learn more this and steel pan history here), musicians were constantly pushing at the boundary of possibility, in order to create a instruments as tonally expressive as possible.
Innovations from different influential pannists such as Elliott Anthony "Ellie" Mannette and Winston "Spree" Simon helped make the instrument what it is today. While Spree Simon is credited with the invention of the Ping Pong steelpan in the mid-1940s (of 8 and 14 notes), Ellie Mannette is commonly referred to as the "father of the modern steel drum." Mannette made a number of essential technological improvements to the steelpan, and is said to be the first person to use a discarded oil barrel to build a steel pan by first sinking the lid and then firing the metal (view a demonstration of this here).
After the end of the World Wars in 1945, steel bands came out in celebration and quickly rose to the limelight. In 1951, Mannette and Simon, along with other members of the Trinidad All Steel Percussion Orchestra, made their global debut at the Festival of Britain. Ellie Mannette has since achieved wide acclaim and has received many honors and accolades for his pivotal role in shaping and developing the pan, as well as the steelband orchestra tradition which is still going strong today.
Steelband orchestras perform a wide variety of musical styles (Latin, pop, jazz, and even classical) at various competitions and performances year-round. Panorama is an annual competition of steelbands from Trinidad and Tobago during the Carnival celebrations, which started in 1963, one year after gaining independence from the UK. The World Steelband Music Festival started up in 1964, also intermittently in Trinidad. Other competitions also exist in the UK as well as the USA today.
Because of the culture of performance in larger steelband orchestras, and competitions that continually set a higher and higher bar for technical skill and orchestration, panyards have become important centers for community and creative expression in Trinidad and Tobago. Panyards not only act as centers for learning and social engagement, but also provide important services in storing all of the drums for the entire orchestra, and doing any necessary upkeep and maintenance on the instruments (learn more on this here).
Pannists are often known to perform solo or with an ensemble, and different pans are designed with more comprehensive pitch ranges, allowing skillful players to perform music of just about any genre. That being said, the tradition from which the pan arose was that of many people coming together to create beautiful and exhilarating music. This music, evocative of the irrepressible and indomitable spirit of those who would not be silenced, is alive and well today.