TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO STANDARD GLOSSARY OF TERMS RELATED TO THE STEEL PAN 2003

TTS 4 1 2: 1992
SUGGESTED CHANGES

FOREWORD

Sub Clause 0.2.1 line 2- Change movement to industry.

Clause 0.3 line 1 - Change indigenous to to invented in.

Clause 0.4 - Steelband should mean pan-round-the-neck and steel orchestra should meanconventional steelband. Topic for discussion.

Sub Clause 0.6.2 line 1 - Change and to or.

GENERAL

Clause 2.1 - first paragraph - Insert hyphen between fine and tuning to read fine-tuning .

Clause 2.1- second paragraph - Last word balancing should be in italics or quotation marks.

Sub Clauses 2.3.1 and 2.3.2 - Replace with new definitions.

Clause 2.4 - Replace with new definition

Clause 2.5 - Replace with new definition

Clause 2.7 - Replace with new definition

Clause 2.8 - Replace with new definition

Clause 2.9 and 2.10 - Replace with new definitions

Insert new clauses to cover definitions of Panorama and Panorama Music

Insert note on Classification of The Steelpan for clarity.

TYPES OF STEEL PANS

Sub Clause 3.1.1 line 2 - Change to to and . Similar changes in all sub clauses up to 3.6.4.Also, the double - second should be considered as a frontline pan. Similarly, change to to and in all sub clauses up to 3.6.4.

ACCESSORIES

Clause 5.2 - Replace with new definition

Clause 5.3 - Replace with new definition

STEEL PAN PERSONNEL - A number of terms (for example scratcher man, tumba man ) sound a bit vulgar and non-technical. This needs to be addressed.

NOMENCLATURE - The standard should be renamed Glossary of Terms Related to the Steel Pan Industry.

STEELPAN(PAN): A definite-pitch, acoustic, percussion instrument. It consists of a circular playing surface made from steel stretched into a concave shape and attached to a hollow, cylindrical resonator called a skirt. This surface is optimised into a number of isolated convex sections called notes. The instrument is usually played with hand-held, rubber-tipped, non-sonorous mallets called sticks .

Note 1 - The steelpan is the national musical instrument of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago.It was invented there circa 1935.

Note 2- Musicians skilled in the art of playing the instrument are called pannists .

Note 3- An ensemble, consisting of a family of steelpans encompassing a range of approximately six chromatic octaves, is known as a steelband or steel orchestra.

Note 4- A rhythm section consisting of a variety of indefinite-pitch percussion instruments usually accompanies the steel orchestra. It is commonly called the engine room.

Note 5- The steelpan is such a unique instrument that it cannot be definitively classified as either a membranophone or an idiophone. It is the only hybrid percussion instrument in existence today.

PANORAMA: A unique steelband competition indigenous to the culture of Trinidad and Tobago, inaugurated during the Carnival Season of 1963.Steel orchestras consisting of between 20 and120 members playing Panorama Music compete before a panel of judges for the title of Panorama Champions . The competition is usually held in three phases- preliminary, semi-finals and finals.

PANORAMA MUSIC: A ten-minute steelband arrangement of the melody of a calypso, which is originally about ninety seconds to two minutes long. These arrangements when fully exploited are varied, interesting and challenging. The structure of a typical arrangement includes an introduction, statement of the melody, thematic, harmonic and melodic developments, changes of key, changes of rhythm, modulations, improvisations and a finale.

SKATING: The deceptive technique of purporting to play runs .

CONVENTIONAL STEELBAND: An ensemble, consisting of a family of steelpans encompassing a range of approximately six chromatic octaves. It is commonly called a steel orchestra .

PAN-'ROUND-THE-NECK STEELBAND (SINGLE-PAN BAND) :An ensemble, consisting of a family of steelpans of limited range. The instruments are single pans, the full weight of which must be borne by an individual pannist. The instruments are usually hung around the neck or supported from the shoulders using straps. With the exception of the tenor pan and second pan, the range of notes on the various instruments is not chromatic.

RHYTHM SECTION: A section within a steelband or steel orchestra, comprising of a variety of indefinite pitch percussion instruments. When played in harmony, it regulates the tempo of the music.

DUDDUP (Pronounced do dop): A bass pan with two notes used to augment the rhythm section of a pan-round-the-neck steelband. It is made from a smaller drum, supported from around the shoulder and played with one stick.

CANOPY: The covering or roof of a pan rack, which protects the instruments and players from the elements. It also functions as an acoustic mirror.

RUN: The rapid playing of a succession of notes or group of notes in a scale-like or chromatic manner.

COASTING: The art of playing steelband music at reduced tempo, especially when rehearsing.

IDIOPHONE: A class of musical percussion instrument made from a naturally sonorous material. The source of sound is the vibration of that material, unmodified by any special tension. Idiophones are classified according to the ways in which they produce sound. There are eight basic types - stamping, stamped, shaken, concussion, scraped, plucked, friction and struck idiophones.

Note 1 - Idiophones may be of definite or indefinite pitch.

Note 2 - Idiophones may have one or more resonators.

Note 3 - There may be more than one idiophone on a single instrument

MEMBRANOPHONE: A class of musical percussion instrument in which sound is produced by the vibration of a membrane called a head , stretched across a resonator. Membranophones are classified according to their shape. There are two basic types, namely skin drums and mirlitons .

Note 1 - There are ten categories of skin drums - cylindrical, conical, barrel, hourglass, goblet, footed, long, kettle, frame and friction.

Note 2 - Membranophones have one or two heads. Double-headed drums may be played on one head or both heads.

Note 3 - Membranophones may be of definite or indefinite pitch.

Note 4 - To classify a specific Membranophone, the following may also be considered:

a) Whether there are snares or sticky balls to improve the tone;

b) How the membrane is attached to the resonator (glued, nailed, pegged, laced or looped and laced);

c) How it is tuned (loops, wedges, pedals or rods);

d) How it is played (with hands, sticks, wire brushes, beaters, by friction or indirectly with striking balls;

e) Position of the instrument when played; and

f) Constituent material of the body of the instrument (wood, metal, earthenware, ceramics).

PANWAGON: A single or two-tiered mobile vehicle specifically designed and constructed to accommodate a steel orchestra and/or ancillary sound reinforcement equipment.

The committee may also consider definitions for popular terms such as Pan Jumbie and Pan Ramajay .

Classification Of The Steelpan

The steelpan (pan) is the National Musical Instrument of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, invented there circa 1935. It is a definite pitch, acoustic percussion instrument consisting of a playing surface of circular cross section made from steel. This is stretched into a concave shape and attached to a hollow, cylindrical resonator called a skirt . The playing surface is divided into an optimum number of isolated convex sections called notes . The steelpan is usually played with hand-held, rubber-tipped, non-sonorous mallets called sticks .

The steelpan is a percussion instrument. Many competent sources including the Trinidad and Tobago Bureau of Standards and the Illustrated World Encyclopaedia of Instruments have classified it as an idiophone . In North America and Europe, it is commonly referred to as a steel drum , suggesting that it is a membranophone . Hank Bordowitz in his article entitled Caribbean-More Music Washing Ashore [1]has even called the pan a steel piano . What manner of instrument is this? In order to classify the steelpan, the definitions of idiophone and membranophone must be carefully examined.

An idiophone is a class of musical percussion instrument made from a naturally sonorous material. The source of sound is the vibration of that material, unmodified by any special tension. Idiophones are classified according to the ways in which they produce sound. There are eight basic types - stamping, stamped, shaken, concussion, scraped, plucked, friction and struck idiophones. Typical examples are Tamboo Bamboos, Tap Dancing Boards, Maracas, Castanets, Scratchers, Sansas, Musical Saws and Gongs, respectively. It should be noted that idiophones might be of definite or indefinite pitch. They may have one or more resonators and there may be more than one idiophone on a single instrument. Xylophones and Marimbas are examples of definite pitch struck idiophones, which have many resonators on the same instrument.

Does the steelpan fit into this category? Its constituent material, steel, is naturally sonorous. However, the playing surface is stretched. It is therefore modified by tension. This suggests that the instrument does not satisfy one of the criteria for being classified as an idiophone. The steelpan has also been described as a definite pitch struck idiophone. However, it may be argued that the notes on the instrument are designed to vibrate independently of each other so that the instrument as a whole does not vibrate when a particular note is struck. Thus, it does not satisfy yet another criterion for being classified as an idiophone. Is it, therefore, a membranophone?

A membranophone is a class of musical percussion instrument from which sound is produced by the vibration of a membrane called a head , stretched across a resonator . Membranophones are classified according to their shape. There are two basic types - skin drums and (the lesser known) mirlitons. Membranophones may be of definite or indefinite pitch, having one or two heads. Double-headed drums may be played on one or both heads. To classify a specific membranophone, one usually considers whether there are snares or sticky balls to improve the tone, how the membrane is attached to the resonator, how it is tuned, how it is played and the constituent material of the body of the instrument.

Does the steelpan fit into this category? The instrument may be described as a number of independent, definite pitch membranes attached to a resonator. However the steelpan is not a drum since the playing surface is not a skin and each note constitutes a different head. By definition, a drum has a maximum of two heads, each situated on either side of the resonator. Therefore the steelpan is not a membranophone although most of its characteristics are typical of that family.

It must be concluded that the steelpan cannot be definitively classified as either an idiophone or a membranophone. It is unique and may be considered to be the first truly hybrid percussion instrument invented by man.

2003 Simeon L. Sandiford