dimanche 3 avril 2016

Making Magic In Steel Pan Music

By Donald Williams


Some days people just want to escape the world with songs on their playlists. Or by playing the guitar on an otherwise ordinary day with friends. Or even when you are doing the same mundane things on a Monday morning. Whatever it is, music is undeniably part of your daily life and for good reason.

To play it however, is something much more complex, as not too many can do it. But then there are others who are just so good. And because of that, music had evolved with so many instruments and various genres. Easily, pop is the most common. And the likes of steel pan music is not unheard of, although not as popular.

But the few who does, appreciates it well enough to know how versatile it can be. And the instrument is not something easy to learn. It would take an experienced musician to play it, because this kind of thing is much more complex than just listening to songs. Or playing the string instruments.

Dating back to the nineteen thirtys, the pans did not have it easy, originating in the Carribean island of Trinidad. This was when African slaves or descendants wanted so badly to express themselves and their music, by normally beating on metals. Hoping to find rhythms and the right kind of harmony, they were clamoring to find a way to match the songs at carnivals.

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.

But even that had not been enough to avoid clashes between groups and enthusiasts, resulting in violence. Thankfully, it did not went on for long because as pioneers excelled in developing it, horizons had been brighter and steel drums suddenly had a good future ahead and along with other genres. Even the war could not stop people from appreciating it.

It had, over time, went on to greater heights, being sent to Britain as a part of an important event. That was where it gained and established international acclaim. And then went on to become as an art form widely accepted. It also identified the pan as a type of music that shaped the Trinidadian culture, earning acceptance and respectability.

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.

The kind of music it creates is hard to resist and so infectious you would not want to stop dancing to its beat. You would not want to ignore its uninhibited feel because there is just nothing like it. A break from the usual electronic beats of the radio and too much mainstreaming, this is perfect for those who really who wants a good calm but cool days.




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