Friday, January 29, 2016

Music Enthusiast Should Consider Playing A Tune On A Steel Pan Music

By Joshua Reed


Music speaks to us at a deep level it translates the messages inside our hearts into flowing melody and rhythm. Because this music can take hold of another person or millions of ears and share the same feelings as the musician does. But music does not only play about feelings and emotions. It also represent the culture and race that one belongs to.

For many oppressed races music was a form of escape. It helped people to cope with difficult and stressful situations placed on them by authoritative figures. That is why many cultures developed their musical instruments to accompany them like the Trinidad steel pan music.

This instrument emerges from Trinidad in the 1930s and called as tamboo bamboo. The late 1700s brought African slaves to the shores of Trinidad where French planters often celebrated a tradition similar to the carnival. However the slaves had their own version using drum tune, and by the time of emancipation these celebrations became more colorful and livelier.

There several times that these percussion instruments were banned by the governing body during that day. Because it was associated with criminals and outlaws these were not very popular then. However in recent years the pan has made it way back from the grave.

Not only does it signify the cultural identity of developed by the former slaves of Trinidad. Today it is now part of the local music scene and has evolved from the Tamboo bamboos which is made from bamboo wood fashioned into a stick that can produce sounds and play tunes. Playing this required it to be hit on the ground, and produced sound when hit by other sticks.

When a steelpan becomes out of tune it is usually caused by too much force and mishandling by the user. Most bands always fine tune their instruments every year, but looking for the right tuner is crucial. Because the person needs to be good at arranging and making notes sound correct and good, and usually tuning is done with hammers.

In producing sounds the device have two commonly used playing techniques called the piston which simply make use of hands by giving it an up and down motion. The flick is similar to the piston except when the hand is near the surface the stick is wave at each side. Then the single stroke roll is used to prolong a tone and these are played quickly and evenly.

Shifting your weight includes bending the knees and sometimes leaning close to it during the music session. Never removed your hands from the inside the drum and always keep it close, so the best sound can be produced. The player should know how to hold the sticks by gripping it tightly or loosely, and knowing what kind of size the device is should be enough to know which method to choose.

While the body should be four to five inches away from the skirt of the steel pan. This allows the musician to lean or pivot during play and will also help them bend their knees a little especially when reaching for hard to reach notes. There are other kinds of pans available such as the mid range and background types where the same positioning are used but the difference here is that the body must be allowed to move and never touch the drum.




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