This is the year 2011. In this day and age of computers.. There aught to be in our library records of all our musicians - calypsonians, and steelbands---- and name the many known steelband men and there are many. Where are all the committees and Associations . they should be writing all these records in some kind of book that the public can lookup or even purchase.. Come on all you important people. get moving.
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Please go to www.nalis.gov.tt and search for the name(s) you want. or open it up on Facebook. There is a Heritage Library and the info is being compiled from as far back as possible.
I am a Vincentian [St.Vincent] and have two children playing Pan and have recorded the dates they started and the type of pans they started with and all other aspects necessary. However I dont know how many parents have done this but regarding the Arts there are only stories which are to be told. In terms of documentation its virtually non-existent . In fact I think sometimes we dont pay much attention to it until there is some "Bacchanal" in relation to where it all began ,who was responsible,what were the challenges,among a host of other things.It is our job/responsibility to make sure that our history which is very rich be properly documented and made available by all the means we have today to ensure that our legacies are truthfully known , not just to us and our children,countries or region but to the world. The need to get the youths involved can never be overemphasised especially when we see how they grasp and gravitate towards the advances in technology which must be utilised for such ventures.The ball is in our court!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!.
Yes 2011 is almost 50 years after we achieved political independence and there are no publicly available records of our creative involvement, participation, progression and achievements in any of our indigenous and other art forms. The neglect of our creation of pan and its development into steelbands in only one of these; I can tell of others but let's stick to the art form that WST represents.
It is my opinion that "...ought to be", and "...should be" are partly what brought us here in the first, second and third places. Record keeping begins with being responsible by valuing and making records of actions as they happen; most of us who can, don't write and as a result our history is not being written by us. Also, let us face it, we are not writers, we talk, we love to talk: we have been and are still an oral people, that has been our tradition but this must change, as you said "...this is the age of computers. The question is - Can we use the attributes of this digital tool to help us resolve some of these issues? I think with commitment, determination and the willingness to change we can.
Firstly, stop saying 'nough respect; let us instead honestly respecting ourselves and others, let us respect who we are and what we do. Then let us agree NOW to begin recording digitally what we know and what we can find from wherever about pan and steelband. Remember, we have only a small window of opportunity to do this before existing paper documents in the tropics start to deteriorate and our remaining pan pioneers pass on to the great pan yard in the sky. Time is truly of the essence here.
Secondly, let us try to lay down some guidelines to alter the future by recording the processes at their very beginnings. Let us start by referring to "pan men and women" as musicians; the term pannist is a copout because regardless of gender or instrument, musicians are properly who they are. Proudly call them musicians. Stop calling new recruits in the panyard "Bob Boy", "Small Man", "Two Left", "Girlie", "Pam-pa-lam" and the countless other nick-names insensitively applied to newcomers. Respect them; call them by their real names. Think of how proud they will feel; think of how their self-esteem and their playing would go up. Then write down their proper names, addresses, and parents, next-of-kin or guardians, the date they first came in, the instrument they are learning, who is responsible for teaching them and their progress notes in a permanent panyard journal. I am not saying that the "Captain" has to do this; I am saying if you want records you have to make them so that they are available. Start keeping records at the pan yard level and move on up the chain.
You think this is too much? No it is not. We are just playing catch-up: if this was done from the beginning we would know today - Who did what, where, when and with whom. I think I understand a little about my fellow Trinbagonians and will predict that if a couple big bands started implementing this kind of idea; every band would start copying it just because the big bands were doing it. Extending this idea to include every steelband appearance, competition, music festival, panorama, Carnival and overseas tour will properly begin to provide records of the history of pan's continued progress and development.
I am a visual artist, a painter who believes in things Trinidadian and Tobagonian; I only recently joined WST but I wish to contribute to raising the level of discourse on our national musical creation. There is much to air and discuss on this and other national subjects and issues; there are also many citizens with useful contributions to offer and since many ideas provide choices, I hope this submission generates some intelligent written responses that address aspects of the problems and issues, for the records.
Lavway! Lavway! Let's hear the strength of your voice and convictions through your responses.
Audley Sue Wing, Trinbagonian Visual Artist
GospelPan > Audley Sue WingJanuary 27, 2011 at 6:20pm
Audley, nice post...documentation is key...however, I wouldn't call the term 'pannist' a copout, rather I would say a pannist is a musician, in much the same way as a pianist or saxophonist. It lets the reader or listener know what instrument they play...if I tell you that I'm a musician, it doesn't tell you much, but if I tell you that I'm a guitarist you know right away what type of musician I am.
The online registry that is required has been established by the Trinidad and Tobago Entertainment Company for the entire entertainment industry. Check it at ttentonline.com
However there is so much work to be done on almost every level. I want to hear our pannists respond with pride "I am a musician, I play double tenor pans" or whatever and equate themselves with counterparts in NY, London or Berlin Symphony Orchestras as musicians at ease and equal among other fellow musicians. Is this wanting too much?
By the way just saying "I am a pannist" means little or nothing to someone who has no idea what a pan, in our sense, is. I would bet you that they would know what a piano is or a saxophone or a guitar. As I said, there is much work to be done. Do continue to keep the dialogue going.
Audley Sue Wing, Trinbagonian Visual Artist
GospelPan > Audley Sue WingJanuary 27, 2011 at 9:27pm
I agree with you 100%..., it's a shame that in this day an age when websites and facebook accounts are free of charge that very few have taken on some of these challenges.
If the calypsonians and steelbands have associations/organizations/committees, or bodies of people with offices somewhere, surely someone can organize this. There must be records stashed in boxes out of sight. We could dust them off and start the process of entering them into the system. There are reasons why things are backwards: no one has the time, no one is interested, laziness, and the old attitude. ***Cindy***
Replies
Yes 2011 is almost 50 years after we achieved political independence and there are no publicly available records of our creative involvement, participation, progression and achievements in any of our indigenous and other art forms. The neglect of our creation of pan and its development into steelbands in only one of these; I can tell of others but let's stick to the art form that WST represents.
It is my opinion that "...ought to be", and "...should be" are partly what brought us here in the first, second and third places. Record keeping begins with being responsible by valuing and making records of actions as they happen; most of us who can, don't write and as a result our history is not being written by us. Also, let us face it, we are not writers, we talk, we love to talk: we have been and are still an oral people, that has been our tradition but this must change, as you said "...this is the age of computers. The question is - Can we use the attributes of this digital tool to help us resolve some of these issues? I think with commitment, determination and the willingness to change we can.
Firstly, stop saying 'nough respect; let us instead honestly respecting ourselves and others, let us respect who we are and what we do. Then let us agree NOW to begin recording digitally what we know and what we can find from wherever about pan and steelband. Remember, we have only a small window of opportunity to do this before existing paper documents in the tropics start to deteriorate and our remaining pan pioneers pass on to the great pan yard in the sky. Time is truly of the essence here.
Secondly, let us try to lay down some guidelines to alter the future by recording the processes at their very beginnings. Let us start by referring to "pan men and women" as musicians; the term pannist is a copout because regardless of gender or instrument, musicians are properly who they are. Proudly call them musicians. Stop calling new recruits in the panyard "Bob Boy", "Small Man", "Two Left", "Girlie", "Pam-pa-lam" and the countless other nick-names insensitively applied to newcomers. Respect them; call them by their real names. Think of how proud they will feel; think of how their self-esteem and their playing would go up. Then write down their proper names, addresses, and parents, next-of-kin or guardians, the date they first came in, the instrument they are learning, who is responsible for teaching them and their progress notes in a permanent panyard journal. I am not saying that the "Captain" has to do this; I am saying if you want records you have to make them so that they are available. Start keeping records at the pan yard level and move on up the chain.
You think this is too much? No it is not. We are just playing catch-up: if this was done from the beginning we would know today - Who did what, where, when and with whom. I think I understand a little about my fellow Trinbagonians and will predict that if a couple big bands started implementing this kind of idea; every band would start copying it just because the big bands were doing it. Extending this idea to include every steelband appearance, competition, music festival, panorama, Carnival and overseas tour will properly begin to provide records of the history of pan's continued progress and development.
I am a visual artist, a painter who believes in things Trinidadian and Tobagonian; I only recently joined WST but I wish to contribute to raising the level of discourse on our national musical creation. There is much to air and discuss on this and other national subjects and issues; there are also many citizens with useful contributions to offer and since many ideas provide choices, I hope this submission generates some intelligent written responses that address aspects of the problems and issues, for the records.
Lavway! Lavway! Let's hear the strength of your voice and convictions through your responses.
Audley Sue Wing, Trinbagonian Visual Artist
Audley, nice post...documentation is key...however, I wouldn't call the term 'pannist' a copout, rather I would say a pannist is a musician, in much the same way as a pianist or saxophonist. It lets the reader or listener know what instrument they play...if I tell you that I'm a musician, it doesn't tell you much, but if I tell you that I'm a guitarist you know right away what type of musician I am.
GP
The online registry that is required has been established by the Trinidad and Tobago Entertainment Company for the entire entertainment industry. Check it at ttentonline.com
Alvin
Thanks GP. Good point, well taken.
However there is so much work to be done on almost every level. I want to hear our pannists respond with pride "I am a musician, I play double tenor pans" or whatever and equate themselves with counterparts in NY, London or Berlin Symphony Orchestras as musicians at ease and equal among other fellow musicians. Is this wanting too much?
By the way just saying "I am a pannist" means little or nothing to someone who has no idea what a pan, in our sense, is. I would bet you that they would know what a piano is or a saxophone or a guitar. As I said, there is much work to be done. Do continue to keep the dialogue going.
Audley Sue Wing, Trinbagonian Visual Artist
I agree with you 100%..., it's a shame that in this day an age when websites and facebook accounts are free of charge that very few have taken on some of these challenges.
The Prize Money must have Increased..............I have noticed that there are about 55 Pan Tunes posted on this website.
Since the inception of this website its the most Pan Tunes ever.Why 2011?.They could haved "saved" some tunes for
2012 and beyond.A lot of the calypsoes have plenty tempo and social commentary.I will be in Trinidad soon to check out
the scene,before and after Carnival 2K11.
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