The steelpan (steel drum) is a unique instrument invented in the 20th century on the island of Trinidad. It is made from the bottom of a metal barrel, carefully hammering out on the concave surface separate zones-petals, each of which gives a specific note when struck. Thus a percussion instrument becomes fully melodic.
The steelpan was born in poor districts as a folk invention and quickly became a national symbol of Trinidad and Tobago, the heart of carnival steel bands — orchestras of dozens of such instruments of different ranges. Its warm, ringing, “sunny” sound is inseparably linked to calypso music and the spirit of the Caribbean festival. The steelpan is a rare example of how an entirely new acoustic instrument arose in the 20th century, and from simple scrap metal at that, and won the love of the whole world.
