Trinidad's Grand Master Artist LeRoy Clarke speaks with reknown music Masters on "Beating Pan". Filmed at the opening of the Trinidad Tobago SteelPan and Jazz Festival in October 2007 at the National Museum of Trinidad in Port-of-Spain. Background photos, curated by Dr. Gloria Gordon, document steelband history.
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THANKS VERY MUCH odw. All respect to the speakers on this video. I came up in pan in the mid 1960's. Words/terms like beating pan, steelband, panman and sticks were the narrative. I stopped using the term beating pan, and steelbands in the 1970's. I think that playing pan, steel orchestra and panist are innovative. However, I would never use the word mallets.
As one of the speakers said, beating iron does up the vibes of the players. However, using aluminum tubing, wood or a thinner rod could drive the same pulse without the decibel intensity. {Yes! I have experienced that ringing in the ears}
Just my opinion.
Correct me if I am wrong...but I am certain that from the beginning, the first panist were intent on "playing" music...and not just beating out "noise"...as most opponents to the artform thought...
No merrytonetothebone, U.R. NOT WRONG, they were doing both, some of this and some/a little of that...
... especially since they were seeking out (duplicating) musical notes.
I voting for "PLAYING" -- the "BEATING" stage gone like the SIXTIES with man pushing pan on the ground on the road. Just the other day I was watching Tripoli or one of dem bands from the SIXTIES and it slapped me in my face that some ah dem fellahs was really really "PLAYING" the PAN from way back then.
Claude...is hoiti toiti people, the church (although dey end up "beatin" pan too) all other manner of dotish Trinis who have found "beating pan" noise and offensive...I understood from the beginning that to play, music on pan...yuh have to beat it...And I started playing because I knew I would be playing music..
And merrytonetothebone, these people are the same religious so-call white boogwah church people, with their hogwash, who had outlawed our ancestors drumming, because they were scared that we maybe implementing going to war on them, because of what they did to us during the slavery error, where they continued that fear us via implementing lenten season after our "Shango feast which is now/also called Carnival" to this day...
Claude, the 60s is a good point of reference.
So when allyuh decide to GO BACK IN TIME -- how allyuh know where to stop?
1931? 1935? 1946? 1956? 1963?
Mi Amigo, try 1935...
Very knowledgeable answer, JJJ!!!
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