Musical Instruments

Some are derived from traditional African instruments and ensembles, others are direct imports from India; still others, like the Steelband, are completely Indigenous to the Caribbean.

Steelband

The Steelband is a musical ensemble comprising melodic drums or pans played with sticks wrapped by rubber. It first appeared in the annual carnival celebrations towards the end of the nineteen thirties. At that time the most popular carnival parade music was the tamboo bamboo band. This ensemble-comprised bamboo stamping tubes of various lengths and tonal pitches and a variety of percussive instruments, the most common of which was the “bottle and spoon”. The bamboo instruments were limited in sound and longevity. The younger men, in search of greater volume and rhythm, began to experiment with a variety of metal containers.

Several competing claims to the invention of the steelband have been made. However, while certain innovators have been identified, it is apparent that the placement of notes on pans was the result of experimentation carried out by several individuals simultaneously.

The instruments of the modern steelband are manufactured from steel drums, originally used to contain oil. The drums are cut to different lengths, tempered and tuned to produce instruments of different ranges.

There are three main sections in the steelband: the front-line, the mid-range and the background.

The front-line pans are the tenors and seconds. The high tenor (soprano), low tenor and double tenor are the instruments of the highest pitch in the band and usually carry the melody. The single and double seconds are tuned lower than the tenors and are used for harmony.

Mid-range pans are the guitars, quadraphones and cellos. The single, double and triple guitar pans are the highest in this section and are used for strumming. The quadraphones are a set of four used for melody and harmony. Melody counter melody and harmony are provided by the cellos, sets of three or four pans.

The background pans are the basses: the tenor the high bass and the six and nine basses. These are the lowest pitched pans in the band.

Rhythm is also provided by the percussion section of the band-the engine room. Here a variety of instruments is used. The most enduring of these is the iron, a generic term for a piece of hard metal which is beaten vigorously, with metal, by a player or enormous skill-the iron man. There are also scratchers, chac-chacs and cowbells among others. Some bands include tassa drums on occasion.

The instruments in a modern steelband are mounted on stands and on some occasions, are covered with metal canopies. These are the conventional bands in which there might be as many as one hundred and twenty players. The repertoire of these bands includes the entire range of western music. Originally, pans were suspended on straps hung around the players’ necks. Some bands continue this tradition is known as traditional pan-around-the-neck bands. These are smaller than the conventional bands and their musical range is more limited.

There are also even smaller pan ensembles. Within recent years the revival of the art of improvisation that distinguished early pannist is encouraged in Pan Ramajay. These ensembles comprise ten persons, each of whom are soloists. Pan Jazz solo pannists and jazz increasingly popular.

Bamboo Rack

The bamboo rack is made up of three dried reeds, four to five feet long and four inches thick. These are mounted on a bamboo frame and are beaten with two bamboo sticks, each one inch wide and twelve inches long. The bamboo rack is sometimes used in the traditional African drum ensemble.

Scratcher

The scratcher is a piece of metal roughened by perforation and rubbed with prongs to produce a grating metallic sound. The size of scratchers varies but they are normally small enough to be held in one hand. They are used for additional percussion in steelbands, parang groups and other folk music.

Tamboo Bamboo Band

The tamboo bamboo or tambour bamboo band is comprised of bamboo stamping tubes of varying lengths and widths which when struck with wood, pieces of bamboo or, if long enough, stamped on the ground emit sounds of different pitches.

The band follows the basic structure of the traditional African drum ensemble and is believed to have become popular as a result of the banning of the drum in the 1800s. There are main instruments the bass (boom), the cutter and the fuller (foule). Percussion is also provided by a bottle, which is struck with a spoon. The volume of water in the bottle varies the pitch of the sound produced.

Tamboo bamboo gave way to steelbands as popular carnival street parade music just before the second world war. These bands are rarely seen in the contemporary period but do perform in special carnival events and are also used in the traditional drum ensemble.

Drums

There are three types of drums in the traditional drum ensemble that was brought to Trinidad and Tobago and other parts of the New World by Africans in the slave era. All drums are made of wood and covered with animal skin.

The cutter is the lead drum. It sets the pace of the music and establishes and varies the beat. This drum might be straight or shaped like a champagne glass. It is approximately three feet long, twelve inches in diameter and covered at one end with goat skin. It is beaten with the hands. When played from a standing position, it is suspended from the player’s neck.

The bass drum is the fuller. This is two to three feet long, about twelve inches in diameter and like the cutter, is covered at one end with goat skin and played with the hands. This drum maintains a steady rhythm. When played from a standing position is it suspended from the waist.

The bass drum is three to four feet long. It is covered at both ends with goat or sheep skin. This drum is played with wooden sticks. Guava and coffee sticks and commonly used. These sticks vary in length according to the preference of the player but are not normally longer than one foot, and are approximately two inches thick. Sticks may be straight or bent at one end. The bent stick is referred to as a bow stick. When played from standing position, this drum is suspended from the waist.

The ensemble is completed with a variety of percussion instruments including cow bells, chac chacs, the bamboo rack and sometimes, tamboo-bamboo. Drummers may chant as they play.

The traditional African ensemble is used for both religious and secular functions. They accompany all the folk dances in the African tradition and are integral parts of folk performing companies. However, these groups also perform independently.

Dholak

A barrel shaped instrument with a wooden body bulging in the middle and tapering towards the ends. The trunk of the mango tree is the most suitable wood for the making of the dholak. The drum is about twenty-eight inches long. The large and small openings at both ends are ten inches and eight inches respectively, the larger end being the base side and the smaller the tenor.

The membrane forming the drum is made from the skin of a ram goat. It is cut into two circular pieces corresponding to the different fits at either end. They are strung and held together by means of cords that pass through the end of the skin, through metal rings right round the body of the drum. These are pulled up or down so that the desired pitch is achieved by the tightening of the cords.

Drums are instruments used in music and dance as rhythmic accompaniments. The dholak is a folk instrument used in folk music and dances. It is also used in orchestras to enhance the rhythm section. In today’s musical performances it is the main rhythm instrument used in classical singing and in every other aspect of folk music.

Hoorka

The hoorka is a small hand drum shaped like an hourglass but with a broader middle. It is about six inches long and four inches in diameter at both ends.

The hoorka is fitted with leather strung up at both ends with cords. It is held in the middle and shaken so that the small wooden knobs at the end of the two strings beat alternatively at the sides of the skin.

Nal

The nal is shaped like the dholak and covered with leather at both ends but unlike the dholak, the skin coverings are held together by means of metal bolts and nuts that are clamped on to the body of the drum. The skins are stretched and tuned to a desired pitch by tightening the bolts. After playing the bolts are slackened until the instrument is needed again for the next playing.

The nal is used to provide rhythm for devotional songs and bhajans at pujas and at religious ceremonies in temples. It is also used in Indian Orchestras.

Tabla

Drums can be differentiated according to whether they are barrel shaped or bowl shaped. The former kind is covered by membranes on both ends while in the latter, such as the tabla, only one end is covered. Though a pair of drums is collectively known as tabla, it is the proper name of only one. The other drum is the dagga or duggi. The dagga is often referred to as bayan or left hand drum, with its heavy bass sound. The tabla (right hand drum) has a higher pitch.

The tabla has a wooden body with a covering of leather on the face; the bayan is made of metal, chiefly aluminium and is also covered with leather. A black circular paste is applied to the surface of both drums which gives them their peculiar sound.

Tassa

The tassa ensemble was brought to Trinidad and Tobago from India by indentured labourers in the 19th Century. The ensemble consist of three drums: the “cutter”, which is the lead drum that carries the beat or “hand”, the “fuller” that carries the supporting rhythm, maintaining a steady beat without variation, and the bass, providing the heavy booming rhythm. The ensemble is completed by a pair of large brass cymbals called Jhanji. The “cutter” and “fuller” are bowl- shaped drums. They are made of clay and covered with the skin of ram goats. Two pliable sticks, chupas, whose ends are wound with adhesive tape into a strong tapering knot, are used to beat these drums. The bass is barrel-shaped and made of cedar. This too is covered with goat skin but unlike the others, is beaten at both ends with the hands. The playing surfaces of the bass are about 24 inches in diameter. All drums are strung around the neck with strong cloth.

Originally, tassa ensembles performed at Hindu weddings and in the Muhurran or Hosay parades-a Muslim religious commemoration of the deaths of the sons of the prophet Mohammed. The public performances of tassa ensembles have now extended beyond these original functions, as tassa music has become part of popular culture.

Jhal

Jhals are a pair of brass cymbals of a much reduced size, having a diameter of about four inches. They are used by groups of singers in chowtal songs during Phagwa celebrations. Sometimes they are used in temples during devotional singing.

Jhanji

Another pair of brass cymbals, about ten to twelve inches in diameter. Jhanji are used as part of tassa ensembles.

Majeers

Majeers are a small pair of bow shaped brass cups that are held together by a cord and beaten against each other. They are used mainly by singers not only to keep time, but to direct and control the rhythm and tempo of the music. In earlier periods when majeers were not available, the covers of bicycle bells were used as substitutes.

Harmonium

The harmonium is a keyboard wind instrument operating on the same principle as the old foot pedaled organ. It is a rectangular shaped instrument, made of wood, measuring roughly 28 inches by 14 inches. The Harmonium is equipped with three sets of brass reeds and has a keyboard of three and a half octaves. Bellows attached to the back of the instruments are used by the left had to pump air into an inner compartment, causing the reeds to vibrate and produce sounds when the notes on the keyboard are pressed with the fingers on the right hand.

First brought to Trinidad after World War 1 in the 1920s, the harmonium is used mainly as an accompanying instrument for a singer or as a member of an ensemble. It is the most popular instrument in Indian Music, indispensable among classical singers. Also it is used in folk songs like the rohars and in fola groups of women singing chutney songs.

Sitar (Tatya Veda)

The word “sitar” is derived from sehtar, which means three strings in the Persian language. Over the centuries it has evolved into its present seven string incarnation. The sitar is the most popular instrument in north India, and has been in existence for over 700 years. It was brought to Trinidad by Indian immigrants who came here as indentured sugar workers.

The instrument, a member of the lute family, is made entirely of wood and has a long neck. At the lower end, a gourd acts as the sound box from which projects the neck and finger board. There are seven strings played by a plectrum attached to the fingers. The sitar has twenty movable frets of curved brass which are adjusted to suite the various ragas and their notes. Under the base of the main strings are nineteen unusual strings called sympathetic strings.

The sitarist spends a great deal of time tuning his instrument because they are trained to listen for precision in tone. It takes vigorous training and fierce discipline from childhood to become a fully trained sitar player. The sitar is used mainly as a solo instrument it is also an accompanying instrument for a vocalist as well as a member of an ensemble.

Box Bass

This wooden instrument, native to Trinidad, provides the bass accompaniment for parang. It consists of a square or rectangular box about eighteen to twenty inches high with a hole, six inches in diameter in its centre. A detachable pole is positioned on one corner of the top of the box. From the centre of the box a string of nylon or jute is attached to the top of the pole. Notes are achieved by varying the angle of the pole and moving the fingers, which depress the string along the pole. The sound is emitted through the hole in the front of the box.

Maracas

Gourd rattles of Latin-American dance music. Now make of wood, they come in pairs, each giving a slightly different pitch.