Name:Trinidad Drum

Color：Sliver

Material：Alloy Steel

Item Dimension：12 x 18 x 9.25 inches

Weight：4.5kg

Included Component: With Case

Instrument Key: G Major

Size:16inch

Proficiency Level:Beginner

Accessories:

Steel Pan*1

Mallets*1

Metal Z Floor Stand

Free Downloadable Beginners Guide and Song Book*1

Music of the Island

Do you like music? Most of us do. When someone finds a new way to make music, people pay attention. That is what happened on a Caribbean island about seventy years ago.

So let us explore Trinidad. That is where the steel drum was invented.

Many people of Trinidad have little money for luxuries.

Pianos and drum sets cost too much. But the people still love to make music. In the past, they sang. They kept the beat with their hands or with sticks. Then in the 1930s, they invented a new instrument. It was cheap and easy to make. With it, they gave the world a new sound.

Here is how it happened. The United States had a navy base on Trinidad. The oil for its ships came in fifty-five-gallon steel drums. After they were empty, the oil drums were discarded. These drums were great for making noise.

The people of Trinidad used them in parades. The drums were played with mallets. They gave off one loud note when hit.

Someone noticed that a dented oil drum gave two notes. One note came from the flat part; the other came from the dent.

Before long, people began adding dents to the drums. That way, they could play a number of different notes. Soon they started making steel drums to keep and to sell.

Today the best steel drums are still made in Trinidad. A drum maker first cuts the oil drum all the way around. The cut is made about one foot from the top. He then uses the flat round top and the sides to make the drum. Next, he pounds the top. The maker uses a forty-pound hammer. This is called

"sinking the pan." It can take up to five hours. The din is tremendous. He has to stretch the metal evenly without tearing it. The first steel drums had the tops pounded up from the inside. These drums had a dome shape. Later, people decided that the sound was better if the top was pounded down from the outside. These drums have a bowl shape.

Today, all steel drums are made this way.

After the top is shaped, the drum maker takes the drum to the beach. He lights a fire under it. The drum gets red hot.

Then he puts it in the ocean. The drum cools quickly. This is called "tempering." It makes the metal very strong. The next step is tuning the steel drum. This is the hardest part.

The drum maker strikes the pan from the inside. This makes a number of bubbles on the top. He then flattens each of them a little so that each dent gives a special note. He listens carefully to the sounds the dents make. Then he uses many small hammers to make slight changes. This takes great skill. Each note must sound clear and different from the rest. Finally, he paints the steel drum. He may also cover it in chrome. This gives the drum a bright silver finish.

Steel drums are popular all over the world. Every February, the best steel bands from many countries play in Trinidad's largest city: Port of Spain. That is when the world steel-band contest takes place. A band may have only three or four players. Or a band can have more than a hundred. The winner of the contest is most often from Trinidad. Are you surprised?

Trinidad is where the steel band was born.