Innovations and Evolutions
Steel Drum Evolution The Steel Drum(steel pan) was invented in the Caribbean Island of Trinidad and Tobago around the second world war. They have been evolving since the 1800s and would be used when celebrating in Carnivals. In 1834 the slaves were freed, they joined in the festivities using the Steel Pan and the colonists were worried because they thought they were sending messages in code. Because of that, drumming activities were banned. That did not stop the natives at all. In the 1930s they started using tin pans, biscuit drums, dust bins, and brake drums. The players' notices after a while of beating on the steel it made a different pitch. In 1948 the small pans were replaced with 55-gallon oil drums that the oil refineries discarded. They cut the drum and bang on the top to make it a concave shape. They wrapped rubber around the sticks to make them have a more mellow sound. Ellie Mannette has been credited with specific improvements to the steel drum and is known as t...