..........sometimes, underdeveloped is good.

I have really enjoyed working with the Caribbean steel drum band that we have started at our high school. To tell the truth, this ensemble has been a real driving force in keeping my enthusiasm high during the last years of my career. The charm of the music and the unique sound of the instruments truly speaks to me personally. It's a sound that brings such a "laid-back" feel.

Steel drums were developed on the Caribbean island of Trinidad beginning before World War II. It was a direct decendent of the Carnival celebration, and was discoverd almost by accident. These instruments were discovered and developed by low socio-economic people. The instruments were not well refined for quite some time. The rhythms and melodies speak of African, Latino, and local Caribbean island traditions. Steel drum music is unlike anything I have ever been involved with.

Many of the instruments that I have for the school were actually made in the "pan yards" of Trinidad. Great numbers of these instruments are made for export each year before Panorama. I just made an order for another set of six-bass last month. I was told that it was a good thing I ordered then; because, all the pan yards were going to be making instruments just for Panorama beginning in November. Panorama is a huge festival/contest for steel pan bands on Trinidad each year. Steel band is so big in Trinidad that they actually have pictures of pans on the money.
Anyway, the instruments I get from Trinidad definitely sound different from those I have purchased from makers here in the states. What's the difference? The American made instruments have a much more refined sound. While this is a very pleasing sound, some of the charm of the steel pans are lost with refinement (in my opinion). In my eyes, this music is not supposed to be so perfect.

The original pans were and are made from 55 gallon (and some smaller) steel drums; just like those you would expect to get raghead juice from the Middle East. Oops! Sorry, that was way too political for this post. Alright, let's get ourselves back on track. Pan makers are now building their own barrels. Why? They are trying to 1) get the barrels better constructed and limit the amount of rattles while they are being played, 2) making the barrels larger (bigger diameter) so they can put more notes on the pan, 3) making the pans larger to cut down on bleed over from note to note. I pay an average of $700 for an imported Trinidad tenor pan - the new ones built here in the states - $2,500 each on average. Don't get me wrong, these are great sounding instruments, but with no imperfections. I like the imperfections. Some of the note "bleed over" is part of the charm of the original. I guess I'm too old school. I love progress, but I like traditional too.

I just saw an article in my latest Music Educators Journal (published my MENC), that advertises a book on steel band. At present, there is no "set" and accepted way of instrumentation for the steel drum ensemble. It won't be that way for long. As books and "experts" develop their ideas, there will be standards. Damn the standards - leave it alone!! Anyway, this book addresses a wide variety of topics, including instrumentation, personnel, basic pan technique, repertoire, and rehearsal strategies. The book, The Steel Drum Game Plan: Strategies for Starting, Building, and Maintaining Your Pan Program, is written by Chris Tanner. Tanner is the founder and director of the Miami University (Ohio) Steel Drum Band. This book is available from MENC for $24.95, and will tell me all I need to know in order to arrive at some "civilized" way to run my steel pan program.

I hope the charm of the steel band does not go by the wayside as we develop these ensembles in America. I'm already somewhat guilty myself. We play a variety of music styles on our instruments. We break the traditional by playing rock n' roll, movie tunes, and classical music in our ensemble. People respond to the sound of a steel band. Many audiences that we play for often remind me that they have heard these instruments on cruises, etc. Appalachian State University is keeping the tradition of the original music alive with their performance of many of the traditional Panorama tunes. At any rate, this is a fantastic medium of musical expression. I love being a part of it, and I plan to resist some of the refinements. I plan to keep alive some of the original tunes from the 1940's and 1950's. I also plan to not allow my decisions to be affected by these American "refiners". As "experts" develop, the original style could be lost.