Trinidad and Steel Drum Music
Caribbean People in Pennsylvania
Trinidad and Tobago are the two southern-most islands in the
chain of islands known as the British West Indies located
south of Florida in the Caribbean Sea. They became one country
after their independence from Great Britain in 1962. Originally
inhabited by the Carib Indians, the West Indies have seen
successive waves of English, French and Spanish colonists,
African slaves, Chinese and Jewish traders, Hindu laborers,
and Germans, Portuguese and Syrians.
Today, eighty percent of the population is Black and mulatto.
Within this majority population, there is great diversity.
Blacks on the islands settled by the British (i.e. Trinidad,
Barbados, Jamaica) speak English and are predominantly Protestant.
Those on Haiti and Martinique speak French. Spanish presence
in the region led to the introduction of the Spanish language
as well as Catholicism on many islands. This diversity is
reflected in the musical traditions of the West Indies where
one can hear instruments and rhythms derived from African,
Spanish, French, Asian Indian, and native Indian influences.
In the United States, musical styles such as zydeco, merengue,
plena, calypso, and conga music all have their roots in the
music of the Blacks from the West Indies. Over a half-million
immigrants have moved from the West Indies to the United States
since 1820. An estimated 12,960 West Indians currently live
in Pennsylvania. About one-third to one-quarter of them came
from Trinidad. The majority of them settled in the Philadelphia
and Pittsburgh areas with smaller populations in Centre, Dauphin,
Franklin, Lancaster, Mercer, Northampton and York counties.
These communities are enriched by the language, customs, music
and dance that these people have brought to Pennsylvania.
Steel Drum Music
Steel drum music evolved from the tamboo bamboo bands that
began on the islands of Trinidad and Tobago in the late 1800s
as a result of the government ban on African drumming. Drumming
has always been an important means of communication in many
African cultures. It accompanies the recounting of historical
events, and is used to punctuate storytelling and to bring
people together in community celebration. So, when drums were
banned, Caribbeans of African-descent used the resources available
to fashion percussive instruments from the bamboo that grew
abundantly in their neighborhoods. Eventually, bamboo came
to be replaced by bottles, bits of metal and tin dustpans.
In the 1940s, a Trinidadian man named Spree Simon made some
additional dents in a tin dustpan and discovered that he could
tune those dents to different notes. Soon, he began to experiment
with oil drums that became abundant after the discovery of
oil in the islands. Since then, the technique of making steel
drums, also known as pans, has become a precise and complex
art form. Steel drum music has grown into a highly competitive
musical form. Bands travel annually from the United States
and other Caribbean islands to Trinidad to compete. A successful
band's repertoire includes traditional dance music, calypso
music with its songs of social and political commentary, popular
songs, and steel drum renditions of classical music.
© 2001 On Tour Productions
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