Today, July 26, Google Doodle is celebrating a musical journey. The search engine is celebrating steelpan, an acoustic music instrument that is made of 55-gallon steel cargo drums illustrated by Trinidad and Tobago-based artist Nicholas Huggins
According to Google’s Doodle Archive, the steelpan was developed in the 20th century and originated in the Caribbean-islands in the 1930s. However, its origins are traced back from the 1700s.
Steelpan Music Instrument In Trinidad History, Sound As Its Honored By Google Doodle
🇹🇹Well the cat is out the bag 🤣
I have created a @GoogleDoodles on Steel Pan!
The team:@mick_see (Motion design)@etiennejazz (composer)
Boogsie Sharpe (Pan soloist)
& Me (Illustration)Happy to keep flying the T&T flag high! 🇹🇹 🇹🇹 🇹🇹 https://t.co/XoMaRxHKwI
— Nicholas Huggins 🇹🇹 (@nick_huggins_) July 26, 2022
#DYK there was only ONE acoustic instrument invented during the 20th century? The steelpan was created by resilient and innovative musicians in Trinidad and Tobago 🎶
Today’s #GoogleDoodle celebrates T&T's national instrument and the history behind it → https://t.co/qv9ufxK9T9 pic.twitter.com/ex6ljSieG0
— Google Doodles (@GoogleDoodles) July 26, 2022
The instrument was used during the Carnival and Canboulay, the annual harvest festivals celebrated in Trinidad and it is still being used in contemporary music.
Doodle is celebrating its journey today as on July 26, 1951, the Trinidad All-Steel Pan Percussion Orchestra (TASPO) performed a new music genre to the world while introducing steelpan at the Festival of Britain.
History of Steelpan
In the 1700s, when enslaved Africans were brought to Trinidad in the West Indies by colonialists, they also brought their heritage and traditions of drumming with them.
According to Google’s Art and Culter, After the abolition of slavery in 1834, Trinidadians participated in Trinidadian Carnival celebrations with their drums.
However, performances of African-descended music were targeted by restrictive government bills, sparking protests and demonstrations. According to the search engine, these protests facilitated the development of new instruments.
It was improvised using scrap metal, metal containers, dustbins and bamboo stamping tubes. The first instrument which developed in the evolution of Steelpan was Tamboo Bamboo.
These Bamboo bands consist of pieces of bamboo cut to different lengths so that different pitches could be obtained, and now they are widely accepted and being used as the precursor to modern steel bands.
According to Culture Mix, these instruments were first seen on BBC television in June 1950, when Trinidadian and Caribbean dancers performed with a steel band on his Tv show, Bal Creole.
And with that exposure, in 1951, the TASPO were invited to perform on the Southbank in London as part of the ‘Festival of Britain’. It was the first time when the British public came into direct contact with the instrument.
TASPO
TASPO was formed for the ‘Festival of Britain’ in 1951. It was the first steel band to use recycled instruments such as oil drums.
According to Culture Mix, TASPO was a group of 12 best pan musicians.
These musicians were selected from the 70 Trinidad Steel bands, including Ellie Mannette from ‘Invaders,’ Sterling Betancourt from ‘Crossfire,’ Philmore ‘Boots’ Davidson from ‘Syncopators,’ Belgrave Bonaparte from ‘Southern Symphony and Andrew ‘Pan’ De Labastide from ‘Hill 60 and many more.
According to Google’s Archive, the Steelpan is now a national instrument of Trinidad and Tobago and is a source of true resilience for its citizens. This instrument is now also seen in concerts at the Royal Albert Hall, Carnegie Hall and among others.
Be it Japan, the UK, or any other country, Steelpan is now an internationally recognized instrument across the globe.