#SteelDrum February 27

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Today’s contribution to the 30-Day Musical Instrument Coach4aday Challenge is on the STEEL DRUM.

If there is an instrument that I connect to the sounds of the Caribbean it is these metal drums also called Steelpan. Developed in the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago in the 1930’s, the steel pan drum isn’t actually a drum at all, but an idiophone.

Facts

They are made in families: bass pans, rhythm pans, and tenor pans.

Musicians who play the steel pan are referred to as pannists.

When making a steel pan the bottom of the oil drum is pounded into the shape of a bowl. Further shaping and tuning is done with hammers that create surfaces that resonate to make distinct sounds.

As of 1992, the steelpan is Trinidad and Tobago’s national instrument.

Video

Listening to the Steelpan on a street corner can still transport you to a Caribbean Island.