BACKGROUD ON PAN

Since the abolition of Slavery in the British West Indies and Trinidad, more than two hundred years ago, the Steel Pan Instrument most symbolizes, the people's  Freedom of Expression and later Emancipation from Slavery. The Steelpan instrument presents a unique symbol of a people's determination to express themselves, through their culture and music.The Steel Drum shows the transition between two different type of Drums; the Skin Drums and the Steel Drum; one traditional , the other, a modern day industrial artifact.
 In terms of Musical expression, the Steel Pan is an icon and should be hightlighted too, as other symbols of freedom of expression such as the Statue of Liberty.
The steel pan family of instruments presents a new orchestral expression music and its the only new melodic instrument invented in 20th century.
 Widespread independent experimentation culminated in the use of steel drums ie Biscuit and Oil metal Drums, especially in the 1940s. One worthy factor which led to the invention was the access to the metal drums and Barrels. The petroluem industry to its credit used their resources to encouraged the exclusive use of metal drums for the transportation of Crude Oil fromTrinidad, subsequently elminating the use of the wooden barrels.When emptied, these discarded steel drums became the main component in constructing an instrument. A method of recycling and re-useing in a manner unheard of before, the Steelpan Pioneers began this musical journey to enculture the world of music. A new Idaphone was added to the world of musical instruments,an instrument simply called "Pan".
 Each steel pan is fashioned from a steel drum whose surface has been sunk into a concave shape and divided into concentric rings of notes. The note surfaces are lightly struck with rubber-tipped mallets to produce the sound. Depending on the range of notes it produces, the steel-drum instrument can consist of a single drum (the soprano pan) or as many a six to twelve drums (the bass pans). The various steel pans cover the entire range of musical voices: soprano, alto, tenor, bass. Played together, they constitute a steel band. Among the pioneers of steel pan, Ellie Mannette is generally credited with the creation of the alto steel pan, consisting of two drums, while Anthony Williams is known for the creation of the spider-web pattern of the original Tenor pan, this led to the used the Soprano in the cycle of of fifths.  It is said, Pythagoras the Father of Mathematics from the 6th century BC, calculated some of the musical theories; namely the Cycle of fifths.  The Instrument made from a circular steel drum, the tenor or lead voice, is the only musical instrument ever constructed to follow this configuration in a practical circular cycle of intervals. In general, the most important factor about this invention; the Steel Pan instrument can form and meet the criteria for an Symphony Orchestra on its own. Other musical instruments usually, must be in a combination to facilitate symphony orchestral written music.  The traditional musical combination of instruments such as Woodwinds, Brass, Strings, Precussions, Pianos and Key Boards. for centuries defined and was faithful to the establish Symphonic instrumentation of any type classical music. Evidently, the orchestra grew by accretion throughout the eighteenth and 19th centuries, but changed very little in composition during the course of the 20th century.  With this history in mind, only the Steelpan family of instruments and without the traditional musical instruments, can perform any Orchestral Chamber music written by great Composers; Mozart, Chopin and others

         

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