The steel pan originates from Trinidad. It has been developped during the first half of the XXth century. During carnivals, metal boxes were used as percussion instruments instead of drums, which were forbidden by colonialists. The industrial development and the settlement of american naval forces have indirectly provoked the use of the more sonorous empty oil barrels. The creation of the melodic instrument that we know today comes from after the second world war, in 1946.

Presentation of the steel pan
(please note that all clips are in french)

Steel pans come in different numbers depending on the register. The «soprano» with its 29 notes - named Tenor Lead - holds in one single pan, the «alto» with 32 notes - Double Second - in two pans, the «tenor» with 18 notes - Double Guitar - in two pans, the «barytone» with 28 notes - Four Cello - in four pans, and the bass in six, seven, nine or twelve pans. There are also many other types of pans : Triple Guitar, Double Tenor, Triple Cello, Quadrophonic, Tenor Bass. Here, Raynald shows us the alto pan, ranging two octaves and a half.

The range of the Alto Steel Pan

Here is an example showing how major scales are played:

Major scales

The placement on notes varies according to the pan register:

The Soprano Steel Pan

The making of the instrument starts with the sinking of the pan. Notes are then drawn and hammered.

The making of the Steel Pan

A few musical examples:

Lapo-Calypso, Raynald Drouin

My Little Suede Shoes, Charlie Parker

For more on steel pans, here is a site in Sweden with a lot of information, links and ressources:
stockholm.music.museum/pan/

Ulf Kronman has written a complete guide on the making and the tuning of steel pans :
stockholm.music.museum/pan/tuning/index.html

Here is a link to a Paris group called Pan a Paname

Thanks to Bruno Grare for his help with instrument names and registers.

* Video clips recorded by Anne-Sophie Pelletier