Global - Increasingly over the last several weeks, When Steel Talks has noticed that several of the national steelband Panoramas in the Caribbean have adopted a practice of announcing the number of “pieces of instruments” in the performing steel orchestras. Exactly what is the importance or ‘accuracy’ of this piece of information? We first saw this curious practice begin a few years ago with school steel orchestras in North America, and then with some steelband gatherings in Europe.
To illustrate what is being widely emulated now, consider the following: an orchestra having, say - seventy-five players, would (outside of the rhythm section) ostensibly be playing seventy or so individual steelpan instruments - be they tenors, double tenors, double seconds, four pans, six or nine bass, etc. - whatever the voices of instruments being utilized. However, what could/would be proudly proclaimed when the orchestra is about to play at these Panoramas, is that this seventy-five member orchestra is taking the stage with (for example)—and depending on the configuration—“one hundred and ninety-seven ‘pieces’ of instruments.”
In this scenario of only seventy or so musicians individually on various voices of instruments in the steelpan family - to come up with one hundred-plus pieces as is being done - indicates individual “pans” are being counted. Now who exactly can fully perform music on four or five “pieces” of a six-bass or nine-bass? Or two “pieces” of a four-pan? Or perhaps one side or “one piece” of a double-tenor?
Unfortunately, this nonsense has been embraced by those who should know better. Are we now going to look for the announcement of how many strings are on a guitar or how many tom toms are in a drummer’s kit?
SMH
Replies
Much ado about nonsense. Much nonsense about minutiae.
Patrick do remember when foreigners use to look underneath the pan to see where the sound coming from in disbelief?
bugs
AGREED... pan must be in great shape to focus on such trivialities
Who ever started itemizing the pieces of instruments in a Steelband that a musician plays is Rubbish.
Oh gosh... Let's see, do we count the violin and the bow as two "pieces of instruments??? Wow, think how many "pieces of instruments" a trap set has, as you said! Maybe we can count the sticks/mallets and add even more. Yes, pure nonsense...
BTW on a related matter, I prefer the term "Musicians" rather than "Players" . How do others feel about this?
PJJ, I think there is a difference between a Musician and a Player.