World Steelpan Day
Next: August 11, 2027
Oil drums that learned to sing.
The story
Where it comes from
The steelpan grew out of the Carnival percussion bands of Trinidad and Tobago in the early 20th century, when players beat out rhythms on bamboo, biscuit tins and scrap metal. It is generally accepted that the first steelpan was made around 1939: the top of a steel drum, dented and tempered, rang out notes of different pitches. Discarded 55-gallon oil drums became the raw material. In 2023 the UN General Assembly proclaimed 11 August World Steelpan Day, to honour the instrument and its place in culture and education.
How it's celebrated
Steel orchestras, schools and community bands give concerts and workshops, and steelbands have played at the UN headquarters in New York. In Trinidad and Tobago, where the pan is the national instrument, the biggest stage is still Panorama, the steelband competition held before Carnival every year since 1963. For the rest of us, it is a good day to put on a steelband recording, or to try a few notes on a pan if you can find one.
Did you know
- Pans are played with a pair of rubber-tipped sticks, and some players hold two in each hand.
- Trinidad and Tobago's national library calls the steelpan the most important acoustic instrument invented in the 20th century.
- The Panorama final is held in Port of Spain on the Saturday before Carnival.
Coming up next
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