Steel Pan Music is ambassador For the Caribbean

When one hears steel pan music it is easy to imagine the beautiful tropical paradise that spawned the magical music.

Pan music is perhaps the most innovative musical contribution of the twentieth century, and is an intrinsic part of the culture of the Caribbean.

Steelbands originated in Trinidad and were born out of the people's need to continue the African tradition of drumming despite the British prohibition of the instruments, especially during Carnival celebrations.

For many years, revelers substituted bamboo tubes for the drums, which they beat on with bamboo sticks. Then, at some point during the 1930's it was discovered that metal produced a more melodious, resonant sound and from that point everything from tin pans to brake drums were introduced to the mix.

During the early years, the pan hung on straps around the player's necks or, as it's expressed ... "pan round de neck". The use of oil drums, which produced a wider range of notes, and the transporting trolleys came later.


Steelbands eventually sprung up in different parts of the Caribbean, including in St. Thomas where it was introduced at the 1952 Carnival (the first Carnival the island had celebrated since 1914). Needless to say, the music was a big hit, as it has been around the world.

Today, pan is the true ambassador of Caribbean music.

St. Thomas Carnival: A Personal Perspective

It is difficult to explain my first carnival as a newcomer to the Virgin Islands. I found it so exciting ... because I had never experienced anything similar. It was all new to me, and I drank it in like an intoxicating drink. Ten years later, I was still as enchanted as that first year.

I admit I was like a child with eyes as big as saucers; wanting to experience every bit of fun and wonder, but at the same time wanting to understand the history behind all I witnessed. I couldn't then, and still can't believe how interesting it is from a historical perspective; which made me feel something like an anthropologist, fastidiously digging for treasure.

The Caribbean carnival celebration that many credit with beginning in Trinidad, according to a number of scholars, actually has its roots in Africa. It made the transition across the ocean, and began first in Trinidad before spreading to other Caribbean islands, landing eventually in the Virgin Islands.

One of the adjustments I had to make as a new islander was the size of everything. My first carnival event at Lionel Roberts stadium, for instance was an eye-opener. I knew better than to expect anything even resembling say, Soldier Field in Chicago, but still I was surprised at the small size of the stadium.

Amazingly though, even that worked for me. There was more camaraderie and more closeness among both friends and strangers ... and believe me, that's a wonderful factor during some of the events when the crowd actually participate with the performers, as in call-and-response when the Calypsonians are singing (we'll get to that later).

Oh, amazing carnival. I can still close my eyes and and get a clear image of me at the stadium heading up into the stands for an evening of fun, ready to whoop and holler at the hilarious, the intriguing, and yes, the bawdy ... with my fried chicken leg in one hand, and my Red Stripe in the other.