SteelBand Music of trinidad and tobago

[Audio] Hello, my name is Sydney Gnrofoun. Today I will be discussing Steelband music in Trinidad and Tobago..

[Audio] The Steel drum, also referred to as the steel pan was constructed in the late 1930s by poor Trinidadian youth. These communities were not musically trained; however, they were able to make steel pans out of the resources they found. They used biscuit tins, oil cans, and bamboo sticks. The music that they played was inspired by traditional Tamboo Bamboo dance music, as a result of the British banning drums. In addition to this, Calypso was another music tradition that was popular amongst enslaved Africans. This type of music had West African influences like storytelling..

[Audio] For those who are not familiar with their music style, I have provided some steel orchestra performances. The first one was the Invaders Steel Orchestra performing " Hookin' Meh" at the Panorama Preliminaries in 2019. The second performance was by the BP Renegades Steel Orchestra at the International Panorama Competition playing " Like Ah Boss"..

[Audio] So, after listening to a bit of this indigenous instrument, one can feel its importance to the identity and culture of Trinidad and Tobago. In fact, performances similar to the ones I have provided can be seen at festivals like carnival, the annual Panorama Competitions, and the World Steel band Music festivals. In the past competitions like these were started to see which performer could play the most rhythmic pitches and tones..

[Audio] At the start of the steel pan era, British colonizers were not fond of the performances of steel instruments. They were concerned that it would start street violence and unrest in the civilians. But in 1946 a steel musician, Winston Simon performed the British national Anthem " God Save the King" for the governor. His performance of a European song allowed the British see the beauty and versatility of this respectable instrument. From that moment they witnessed the potential to promote nationalism making the steel pan the national instrument..

[Audio] To summarize the pages I have assigned, it is without a doubt that this instrument's colonial past has given the audience and listeners an in depth understanding of its country's identity and culture. Today it is a greatly appreciated and celebrated instrument that has astonishing musical flexibility. In fact, it can play any kind of song whether its used to perform classical music from Europe or Soca at Carnival..

[Audio] After watching the informational documentary in this lesson, you will be educated on the history of this music. In the video you will be able to experience the accounts of former steel pan musicians during the beginning of this era. Some key points from the video were at 3: 23 to 4: 55. It gives you a little more insight on how the instrument was first crafted. Once you approach 7:20 to 13: 44 you will hear a story being told on the history of Tamboo bamboo and how it was performed before its ban. The last, but most interesting story of this documentary starts at 17: 20 and ends at 21: 47, which is multiple recounts of the violence that brewed amongst rival steelnbands. This was mostly caused by competitiveness which had terrible outcomes such as sever injuries and numerous deaths..

[Audio] For this lecture, I utilized pages from Chapter 9 of the Resonances textbook and the documentary that I think is vital to understanding the music that derives from Trinidad and Tobago. After you watch this mini-lecture make sure to read pages 340 to 347 of chapter 9. Lastly, take the 10 question Kahoot Quiz that consists of multiple choice and true/false questions. It contains many key points from the mini lecture, provided textbook pages, and documentary so you will be well prepared for that. Good Luck!.