Island Jamz.... History

Live Steel Drum Music for Weddings, Banquets, Corporate Picnics, Parties & All Special Events-
Catering for Weddings, Parties, Picnics, Receptions, Party Platters, Retirements, Bar Mitzvahs

A Brief History of the Steel Band
Steel drums were invented on the island of Trinidad around the time of WWII. One can trace the roots of these instruments back to the African slaves who were placed on the island by Spanish and French plantation owners as early as the 16th century.
During this time of hardship and separation from their families, music was their only link back to Africa. The slave owners were notorious for setting specific rules and hours for African drumming. They feared the sound of the drums would incite the slaves to rebellion and that perhaps they were sending rhythmic messages. The instruments would be destroyed but the slaves would simply invent new instruments. Rhythmic elements of African drumming can be heard throughout the evolution of steel drums and is used in the percussion sections (”engine rooms”) of the steel bands today.

The next important step in the evolution of the steel drum was metal beating bands. These bands consisted of players using all metallic instruments (tin pans, biscuit drums, dustbins, etc.) and were sometimes referred to as “iron bands” or “pan bands”. It was soon discovered that these non pitched metal instruments changed the pitch after they had been beaten for a while. The first pitched steel drums were made from smaller metal containers and were convex in shape. They were still in their experimental stages and had no intentional pitches. In the 1940’s and 1950’s pan innovators experimented with the “stylings” or not patterns and improved upon the tuning. Today the drum is constructed from the bottom of 55 gallon barrels, sunk down in a concave fashion and tuned with precision.