music at the turn of the 21st century is given, highlighting its
usefulness in promoting multicultural education. The history of steel
drum music in 1940s Trinidad and Tobago is mentioned. Additional
discussion is also given outlining the factors which made steel band
music effective in classrooms, such as the relative simplicity of
technique, it's exotic appeal to students, and its inclusion of multiple
genres within its repertoire such as calypso, reggae and popular music.
Excerpt from Article:
Steel drum ensembles promote multicultural music education and attract a wide range of students.
In 1988, a survey of music educators found a disturbing trend. The survey revealed that music education teachers were not implementing multicultural education to the same degree that general education
teachers were.(n1) Even though MENC and leading music educators at the
Tanglewood Music Education Symposium of 1967 had enthusiastically
endorsed a greater emphasis on world musics in American classrooms,
little had changed since then. Studies based upon these discrepancies
produced a variety of responses. One survey by Jerrold Moore found that
even though 75 percent of educators interviewed believed in the
inclusion of world musics, most stated that their training did not
prepare them for incorporating them into the classroom, and that they
felt they did not have the knowledge necessary to teach them.(n2)
Even as these findings were being published, a quiet revolution in multicultural music education gradually began to build momentum in American schools. Some academics attributed this movement to a new model
of music education that moved away from teaching students mere
appreciation of non-Western musics--the educational trend of the 1970s
and '80s--to instead having students actually make music on authentic
instruments in culturally sensitive environments.(n3) Music educators
who first participated in the revolution, however, recall that such an
educational hypothesis stood a distant second to the element that first
attracted them to music to begin with: the sound.
"In 1973 I took my marching band to play at the Orange Bowl in Florida," recalls early steel drum pioneer Marc Svaline, director of bands at Washington High School in Washington, Pennsylvania. "While
there, we performed at Disney World … My first time at Disney World, and
I spent most of the day standing outside the 'Pirates of the Caribbean'
ride listening to this little steel band play. I had never heard
anything like it! … [Years later] I got hold of a cheap tourist pan from
Miami. We miked it, put it on the marching field--I had no idea what I
was doing, I think I had a student play it with xylophone mallets--and
the crowd went crazy! I figured there was something there!"(n4)
The unique sound of the Trinidadian steel band has captivated listeners ever since its invention in 1940s Trinidad and Tobago. Born in the slums of Port of Spain, this unique instrument shares a history as
fascinating as its tone. Invented by school-age youths seeking a way to
create music for the festive Carnival celebrations of Trinidad, the
drums were first hammered out of metallic tubs and dustbins until the
fortuitous arrival of Allied ships during World War II brought thousands
of 55-gallon oil drums to the island. Eventually, gangs of "ruffians"
composed of unemployed boys and men roamed the streets of Port of Spain
playing the evolving instruments, where they fought with their fists,
their music and their instruments as each band tried to outfight and
outplay the others. Within a few decades, the unmistakable sound of the
instrument and the calypso music most closely associated with it had
created an international following fueled by migrating Trinidadian
performers and instrument craftsmen, who relocated to the United States,
Europe, and elsewhere.
Known today as "steel pans" in Trinidad and "steel drums" in North America, the ensemble represents a unique hybridization of Western, Caribbean, Latin, and even African influences. Taught and learned almost
entirely by rote in Trinidad, the music has been adapted in North
America to Western music education models that rely upon music literacy
and Western ensemble rehearsal techniques. A standard steel drum
"orchestra" in Trinidad can involve up to one hundred players and nine
or more varieties of the instruments, which range from one pan per
player up to eight pans per individual. In North America, most public
school ensembles utilize anywhere from fifteen to thirty student
performers on five basic instruments, each of which cover one-and-a-half
to two or more chromatic octaves to make a complete palette from
soprano to bass for musical expression: the tenor pan, the double tenor,
the double seconds, the cello/guitars, and the bass pans.
In addition to the steel drums, both Trinidadian and North American ensembles use a group of percussionists known collectively as the engine room. The engine room incorporates a variety of rhythm instruments
ranging from a drumset and congas to metal rasps and the ubiquitous
automotive brake drum (played with sticks in a syncopated ostinato
rhythm for a high-pitched, bell-like sound), all of which combine to
provide the energy behind both calypso and the more recently invented
soca music styles that are often a prevalent part of any steel
ensemble's repertoire (see the sidebar on music of the steel band).
As many music educators called for increased awareness of non-Western musics in American classrooms during the latter part of the twentieth century, steel drum ensembles gradually emerged in American universities
as a viable form of handson multicultural music instruction. In 1980,
only three university-affiliated steel bands existed in the United
States. By 2001, one North American pan tuner ascertained that there
were over 650 university and public school steel drum ensembles in his
files alone.(n5)
What fueled this rapid growth? The immigration of gifted steel drum builders and educators from Trinidad provided both the instruments and the instruction that allowed the art form to flourish for the first time
outside of Trinidad. North American university percussion professors,
fascinated by the possibilities of the ensemble, began to incorporate
the instruments into their curriculum, where they were soon absorbed by a
new generation of future music educators.(n6)
Recently, steel drum programs have begun to emerge at high schools across the country. Some programs were created as a direct result of the North American university steel band movement, as recent university
graduates moved into their first teaching positions. "When I was hired,"
states Ed LeBorgne, director of the Walnut Hills High School ensemble
in Cincinnati, Ohio, "the school had a strong music program to begin
with. I mentioned a desire to incorporate a steel drum program in my job
interview, and I was hired with the expectation that I would get one
going."(n7)
Other programs were formed by band directors who had no steel band experience, but who were looking for new ways to excite their students about music. "I heard some drums once at the Port of Miami and loved the
sound," recalls director Art Glenn, who is a woodwind specialist and
band director at Carrollton High School in Carrollton, Ohio. "A bit
later, I received a flyer from Villanova about a one-week summer course
over how to start a steel band program … I attended, and invited the
teacher to give an informational con cert at my school. Kids, parents,
the school board, and even the superintendent came. Afterward, I
proposed a $30,000 budget to create an ensemble and really pushed the
multicultural/world exposure angle. The response was incredibly
positive!"(n8)
The profound impact of this emerging ensemble can be found in elementary and middle school programs, as well. The appeal of pan at the elementary level is obvious. Within a very short time frame, even the
youngest beginner can play a melody or strum a tune without having to
worry about breath support or the fine-motor skills inherent in learning
recorder or guitar fingerings. After introducing a steel band program
in an elementary school in Manitoba, Canada, educator Linda Hildebrand
noted improved self-confidence and self-image among her students, and
the students responded with comments such as: "[Steel drums] are
interesting and fun to use," and "They keep me in music."(n9) The
teacher in one middle school program remarked, "[The steel drum
ensemble] shows cultural diversity and the students learn about music
from another culture. It's a great public relations tool. It's a great
teaching tool. It's a great motivational instrument."(n10)
At the high school level, students can benefit from learning the many international musical styles and rhythms often associated with steel drums--including soca, calypso, reggae, and a broad scope of Latin
music--in a performing context that allows for an in-depth exploration
of these varying genres. Most high school steel bands are made up of a
variety of instrumentalists from varying backgrounds, including wood:
wind and brass players, and choir members. Percussionists, especially,
tend to be attracted to steel bands because of the opportunity to
perform as an integral part of the ensemble rather than as a mere
coloristic addition in the back of the room. However, an unrecognized
advantage for beginners at all levels is the fact that the technique
necessary to make a good sound is very simple, and no participant is
handicapped by a lack of previous experience with other instruments such
as the piano (unlike in a percussion ensemble setting).
One of the most appealing elements of steel bands in public schools is the wide range of students they attract. Since rote learning and music reading are considered equally valid educational methods for many
steel band programs, the ensembles can draw both high-achieving music
students and at-risk students with no musical background. Larry Ordener,
director of the Steel Ambassadors of the A. J. Moore Academy/
Professional Development school in Waco, Texas, works with inner-city
students, the overwhelming majority of whom are on a free- or
reduced-lunch program and have little to no interest in "traditional"
music programs such as band or orchestra. Instead, the music program at
A. J. Moore consists entirely of one jazz band, four beginning steel
drum ensembles, and one advanced steel drum ensemble, all of which learn
simple selections by rote before they are introduced to music reading
and more advanced repertoire.(n11)
A similar program can be found at the Brighton Heritage Academy in Brighton, Colorado. There, Donald Prorack directs three classes of steel band every morning--the only music classes offered at the academy,
which enrolls only at-risk students. The allure of the steel band can
also have a positive effect for underperforming students within a more
traditional public school program.(n12) Brad Shores, the director of the
Haven High School program in Haven, Kansas, recalls, "I've been told by
the principal, 'This kid's in school because of your steel band;
otherwise, he'd have dropped out of here by now.'"(n13)…
Replies
Just my 2 cents.
Peter
Courtney "Scratcherman" Leiba of the Tripoli Steel Band.
Very well stated, Tripoli Steel Orchestra is indeed responsible for the now National Instrument of T&T being in the Schools in the US. Not many people know that fact and also, Tripoli is still performing today.
How are things down under?
Ian