Trinidad Express
By Louis B Homer South Bureau
It was the economic depression in Trinidad in the 1930s and the latent musical talent of young Afro-Trinidadians that gave birth to the steelpan as a unique musical instrument in Trinidad and Tobago which was to provide in later years musical entertainment to the world.
For many years, steelband music was regarded as music of the unprivileged who were debarred from self-expression because of social and economic disability.
But during the period 1938 to 1945, steelband music emerged in full force, replacing bamboo drums with bits and pieces of metal capable of producing non-melodic but highly rhythmic sounds.
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