There are basically 5 kinds of steel drums, these are ranked from highest to lowest sounding. Even though they are comparatively new, it seems surprising that steel pans could have the wide appeal they enjoy worldwide and so. A good tuner should be able to get your pan in tune to a point where it holds its tuning. The main purpose of this handbook is thus not to teach novices how to tune steel pans. Pansteel products overview pansteel cable ties pages b3. Great book, everything you need to make a steel pan except your own skill. Steel pan tuning a handbook for steel pan making and tuning musikmuseets skrifter 20 ulf kronman. After this the steel pan is tuned for a final time and blended. We currently have used pans available for immediate purchase. Pig iron has a very high carbon content, typically 45%, which makes it very brittle and not very useful directly as a material. An extremely energetic supernova from a very massive star. You should not attempt to tune your pan yourself, even if you think it just needs a minor adjustment.
Cover the bottom of the pan with flavorless oil and heat for 5 minutes. Jun 06, 2012 the bass steel pan has a sound very like that of an acoustic bass, but with more power, punchiness and strength of tone. Carbon and alloy steel bars and rods heat treating. Steelpans also known as steel pans, steel drums or pans, and sometimes, collectively with other musicians, as a steel band or orchestra is a musical instrument originating from trinidad and tobago. Ghs strings produces a standard guitar set that is suitable for several of the tunings listed below. The tuning of steel pans is much more complicated, since the pitch and the timbre the colour of the sound have to be adjusted independently. M steel is a collection of frying pans and crepe pans made of extra thick black steel with riveted steel handles. In the beginnings of steel pan groups they were associated with violence, this was a big it was not acceptable to play as well as the idea that they had a role in the home, not playing music. Tuning is a skill which can only be gained with years of practice. With this knowledge and the ingenuity of our tuners we offer a wide range of steel pans, expertly tuned and at the most affordable prices. All drawings and photographs by the author exc ept where otherwise stated. In the soprano range, there is a lead pan also called a tenor pan. The pan or hang drum is a relatively new musical instrument, the first one being built in. The presentation is complemented by some speculations on the relation of the measured data and the models to the practical tuning work and the design of the steel pan.
Steel pans are percussive instruments that originated in trinidad. The modern pan is a chromatically pitched percussion instrument made from 55 gallon industrial drums that formerly contained chemicals drum refers to the steel drum containers from which the pans are made. Tuning our pans steely pan steel band appalachian state. Free 2212 24 lap steel plan the steel guitar forum. Take the 8tubes and the 2tubes pan flutes and lye the latter on the first see first image, lowering the accidentals by 12 cm. Raw iron, the immediate product of smelting iron ore with coke and limestone in a blast furnace. Repeat the seasoning process a second time and your pan is ready for use. Steel pans we offer leads, seconds, cello, and basses in a variety of options. Now lodge has added a new line of seasoned steel skillets. Fellix rohner 7th october 2014 with secrets of the steelpan unlocking the secrets of the science, technology, tuning and operation of the steelpan dr. This is the decisive factor to obtain the sweet sound of pan. Still, as a scientist i wanted to document what i was learning and felt that a building description could serve as a written guidance to the basics of steel pan making.
Panart tuners realized that a steelpan could now be manufactured with the help of a press. This means that the tuner has to control both the fundamental, constituting the playing pitch, and the upper partials harmonics, producing the timbre, while he is doing the tuning. It is usually the lead instrument and carries the melody, but can also fill harmonies depending on the users. But, during my research project i realized that the art of steel pan tuning has now reached a degree of crafting re. Pan lubing is an old method, and the most afordable one i know. Who is the best overall pan tuner in trinidad and tobage. Tuning is a knowledge based on daily practice, and on the internalization of the behaviour of the forces in the steel in relation to both resonance and pitch. I am federico gay, a steel pan maker and tuner from trinidad and tobago. Most bands wish to have the tuner come on site to tune and blend the instruments while some individuals prefer to ship their instruments directly to the factory for service. It takes little time to adjust to tuning a conventional guitar style tuner and the ease of string changes makes up for the tuner buttons mounted in a pan.
True, running a combine is far more complicated than just adding a weight to ensure smooth tire rotation. In the early days, many were created from oil drums and other discarded metal objects that had been tuned to make different sounds. Unlocking the secrets of the science, technology, tuning of the steelpan marc andreessen and the development of the web browser unlocking the secrets of science. The best is to combine both methods, first chroming, then a putting on a thin layer of wax. As part of rhythmical steel s tuning service each set of instruments being tuned, rhythmical steel changes the mallet tips and wires free of charge. Tenor double tenor double second guitar or cello bass tenor the tenor is the mot common steel pan. May 19, 2015 in a video titled steel pan drumevolution of sound, craftsman michael perkins demonstrates the surprisingly beautiful process of making and tuning a steel pan drum. However, that doesnt mean that the instrument lacks anything a lap steel guitar needs, and it can be played just as well as any other lap steel instrument. Tuning our pans over 60 years ago the steel drum instrument was regarded as little more than a nuisance. Technically, my own diy steelpan project is still on hold. Also considered as the soprano steel pan, this is the highest pitched of all the steel pan versions. Many questions remain unanswered and will require further research. I have been making, tuning and blending steel pans for over 25 years. Let the pan cool before draining the oil, and then wipe clean with paper towels.
Our instrument makers use both traditional and the most modern tuning equipment to produce the finest range of instruments the world can ever hear. Combine the pitch with the rhythmic value to determine how quickly or slowly to play each note. Sheet music for all steel drum pan band and steelband ensembles by the top composers in the business. He takes the versatile steelpan to the exciting world of jazz fusion with a group of skilled colleagues that add electronic keyboards, creative drumming, funk bass, soca, world music elements and other tasty ingredients. The layout of the notes in the pan is, of course, important for the ergonomy of the player. History, development and tuning of the hang hangblog. After this process, the pan will acquire a natural nonstick property. This an old development and its successor was released in march 2016. It is important that the borders of the notes have a straight slope not curved down towards the middle. Mar 29, 2016 comes with 8 pdf files that can be printed out enjoy the lesson and diagrams.
Taxonomy of metals metal alloys steels ferrous nonferrous cast irons cu al mg ti pan on the wwweb. The black steel, carbon steel, is an excellent heat conductor and extremely durable. It is said to be the tuning process, that is really the difficult part. Preceeding this step, the steel pan is ready to be sold. Moulds for the overall shape of the different pans and their sinking depths are given in appendix a. So, i bought a steel pan, and my life has never been the same. Description and function of the types of steel drums. To raise the notes of a bass a special tool is often used. Steel pan tuning a handbook for steel pan making and tuning by ulf kronman is licensed under a creative commons attribution 3. I had just finished music school and i was burned out. Tuning services we offer tuning services for all types of steel drum instruments regardless of design or maker. Found some great information from a handbook for steel pan making and tuning. When young, before i could afford a lyman 450 lubrisizer, i developed a technique of dipping a room temp bullet into melted wax.
Describing the sound of the steel pan musical instrument is both difficult and seemingly fraught with contradictions. Anthony achong is presenting his lifes work, a summary of his extensive studies on the steelpan. Bluestem strings beginners guide to lap steel construction. Often one difficult note will take hours to get just right. Melting pot steel pan fusion is an excellent london band led by trinidadian steel pan maestro and composer wade austin. The following tunings and recommended gauges are shown below to enable experimentation after your initial introduction to the lap steel. Coal is converted into coke, gas, and chemicals in the coke ovens. Standard equipment includes wrenchless setback adjustment, easily removed upper, bed, and apron angle fingers, and a counterweight. In order to use the pdf files, you have to have a copy of adobe acrobat reader, which you may download freely from adobe. Ellie mannette crafted the first musical instrument from a 55gallon steel barrel. It was not socially acceptable for women to play for a few reasons. Published by musikmuseet box 16326, s103 26 stockholm, sweden.
An extremely energetic supernova from a very massive star in a dense medium matt nicholl,1. The americanbased company lodge has been fine tuning its construction of rugged, castiron cookware for more than a century. Simple lap steel guitar i call this lap steel guitar simple because it is basically just a blank with strings attached. Keeping a harvester at peak capacity so it gleans all the grain from residue and produces a clean sample free of broken kernels requires some fine tuning. The coke is used in the blast furnace as a fuel and reducing agent, the gas is burned in heating units, and the chemicals are pro. Some consider the sound of steel drum cello pans to be the most interesting. Using just half a 2x4, some guitar tuners, some bolts, and a pickup i build a simple lap steel guitar. You can study a note position chart if you are unfamiliar with the note placements see resource section. Tamboo bamboo, the steeldrums, pan people and the steelbands. Instead of stretching the bottom of an oil drum with hammers to. Ulf kronman, 38, is a swedish physicist and steel pan player. This is how a steel drum is made and tuned, for all your.
After the initial tuning, the steel pan is sent to be chromed to protect it from rusting. The modern pan is a chromatically pitched percussion instrument made from 55 gallon industrial drums that formerly contained chemicals. Whats a good tuning for a 7 and 8 string lap steel, and what would be the appropriate string gauges for said tunings. What vincy bushman put light on yuh head to sentence you to a life of trini lickbamsee really did a good job. Check out the various versions of the instrument that can be made from a single oil drum. Her thirtyyear involvement with pan music has resulted in an eclectic career. Note layout on the 14 singlelead pan arranged in a circle of fifths, based on the traditional full size lead tenor pan, with the exclusion of ab, and eb. Bill many people say you can slant successfully on any steel guitar if you work hard enough at it, and thats probably true, but after doing some homework in the forum archives and playing as many nonpedal guitars as i can in the last year or so, ive come to think that 38 string spacing at both nut and bridge straight no taperfor 68 strings is ideal for slants working especially. As the son of lloyd gay, one of the best steel pan tuners in trinidad and tobago, i started learning the artform at a very early age. Find a steelband, get their history, visit some pan people on the steelbands pan of trinidad and tobago. The making of a steel pan set is usually about two days of work for a tuning team. These smaller holes relieve pressure very quickly and the resulting sound is a very dry tone because the resonant side is not easily excited. It is important to note that the earlier versions contained less notes. Steel pan playing was strictly a male activity until the late 1970searly 1980s.
This is similar to a flute, trumpet, or soprano sax, with its lowest note at middle c and rising chromatically two and one half octaves. Introduction welcome to the website of rachel hayward. Other types of finishings can be applied as well, based on the visual needs. Kinds of steel pans many people do not realize this, but the steel pan is actually a whole orchestra of various instruments. Since my research only has been going on for a short time, this section is. Introduction to iron and steel a few definitions and general descriptions are in order pig iron. For many years after publication steel pan tuning was only available in print, through respected ohio steelpan vendor panyard, inc.
The steel withstands high temperatures allowing for longer preheating and thus excellent searing. We describe here, step by step, the different stages of the shaping and tuning of a hang. If you are a beginner in pan making you will probably have to read the sections about backing, grooving, levelling and tuning to understand the intent of this shaping. The history of the steelpan, its impact in hartford and the significant. Tuners this question should be very interesting among the many pan lovers out there. If you hear 2 notes when you play the c, d or e tube, then lower the 2tubes group. This is the first in a series of blogs and videos we are calling tricks and tips for steel pan players. Low note on the 14 singlelead pan is c above middle c 14 doublepan drums offer chromatic range, meaning each note on the scale, including all sharps and flats, is available to play. Met a steel drum player at a party this weekend and had an enlightening shop conversation involving the tuning and layout of notes on the instrument. Good materials are those that are able to build up high compressive stress under the hammer blows. It involves beating the untuned notes with a rounded hammer until the desired pitch and quality of note is reached. Steel pan this section presents measurements and theoretical models from my research on the steel pan. The steel pan tuning handbook as one single pdf file 2. Play the pitches according to their locations in the steel pans.
Much easier to articulate is the dramatic effect steel drum sound has on so many listeners. The sound can be thrilling when up close to a bass steel pan. May 26, 2012 the steel drum instrument family is comprised of different instruments in different ranges. By watching the following videos youll get some idea of what it takes to tune a steel pan. Dear wst members there has been talk over the the past decades as to who is the best pan tuner in.
Listings of steelbands, tuners, companies, organisations and pan events. Steel pan tuning a free online handbook for steel pan making and. This handy 12inch seasoned steel skillet is the only preseasoned and ready to use out of the box steel pan in the market place right now. Could you make your selection for the top 10 ten present or passed pan. And the part which blows the plans of most potential handpan makers away. Papa and grandpapa nincompoop was tuning klim pan in between his breaks from planting garden and molesting wilbur and so that means that tuning pan started with vincies and not the trinis. Developments, innovations and experiments 9 kb iii.
Getting your pan retuned is a normal part of owning a pan, and should generally be done on an annual basis by a professional pan tuner. In the following document, i intend to combine the information. Many people do not realize this, but the steel pan is actually a whole orchestra of various instruments. The pan page steel pan makers and tuners in various.