Friday Music

The Steel Drum, or Pan, is a unique percussion instrument that has only recently been popularized on the musical scene.  Hammered from a 55-gallon oil barrel it is skillfully tuned by hand to produce perfect musical tones.  Steel pans are the only instruments made to play in the Pythagorean musical cycle of fourths and fifths.  The drums were developed on the Caribbean island of Trinidad during the early years of the 20th century.   The artist who plays the steelpan is called a pannist.