Steel Drums and Carnival

[anansi]

My ol stomping ground in Brooklyn.
Brief Historical Background of Steel Drums
Steel drums were invented on the island of Trinidad around the time of W.W.II. One can trace the roots of these instruments back to the African slaves who were placed on the island by Spanish and French plantation owners as early as the 16th century. The constant struggle against the "elite" upper class brought many hardships and frustrations to the African slaves; most of them had been separated from their families and lost their native languages. Music was their only link back to Africa.

The elite classes were notorious for setting specific rules and hours for African drumming. They were fearful the drums would incite the slaves to rebellion and that perhaps they were sending rhythmic messages. Over the centuries, as the upper classes would ban the lower classes' instruments , the lower classes would simply invent a new performance instrument. Rhythmic elements of African drumming can be heard throughout the evolution of steel drums and is used in the percussion sections (engine rooms) of the steel bands today.

The African rhythmic patterns were later reproduced on bamboo stomping tubes by tamboo bamboo bands who marched in the streets during Carnival. These instruments were constructed by cutting varying lengths of bamboo sticks, stomping the larger sticks on the ground, and striking the smaller ones together.

The next important step in the evolution of the steel drum was metal beating bands of the early 1930's as a gradual replacement for the banned tamboo bamboo. These bands consisted of players using all metallic instruments (i.e. tin pans, biscuit drums, dustbins, ect.) and were sometimes referred to as "iron bands" or "pan bands". It was soon discovered that these non pitched metal instruments changed pitch after they had been beaten for a while.

The very first pitched steel drums were made from smaller metal containers and were convex in shape. The performer would carry the smaller metal drum with one hand and beat the metal with the other. These instruments were crude; they were still in their experimental stages and had no intentional pitches. In the 1940's and 1950's pan innovators experimented with the stylings or note patterns, and improved upon the tuning. Today the drum is constructed from the bottom of a 55 gallon barrel, sunk down in a concave fashion, and tuned with precision.
www.isu.edu/stdorg/special/csdb/history.html

Ms. Jessie Waddle and some of her West Indian friends started the Carnival in Harlem in the 1920s by staging costume parties in large enclosed places - like the Savoy, Renaissance and Audubon Ballrooms due to the cold wintry weather of February. This is the usual time for the pre-Lenten celebrations held in most countries around the world. However, because of the very nature of Carnival and the need to parade in costume to music - indoor confinement did not work.
The earliest known Carnival street parade was held on September 1, 1947. The Trinidad Carnival Pageant Committee was the founding force behind the parade, which was held in Harlem. The parade route was along Seventh Avenue, starting at 110th St.
The first Carnival Queen was Miss Dorothy Godfrey. The Committee raised money to finance the parade. They sold advertisement space and boosters, that were printed in a Souvenir Journal for West Indies Day, a booklet which is a memento of that first parade. Mrs. Jessie Waddell Compton is presented in the journal as the person "whose inspiration and enterprise" was owed to the formation of this committee. The committee consisted of Mrs. Waddell Compton-Chairman; Ivan H. Daniel-Vice Chairman; Conrad Matthews-Treasurer; Roy Huggins-Secretary; and Robert J. Welsh-Assistant Secretary. Each member of the committee contributed in helping to organize the parade. The after-parade party, which the Trinidad Carnival Pageant Committee held at the Golden Gate Ballroom (located at 142nd St. and Lenox Ave), was arranged by James M. Green, another figure who helped make the first Carnival Parade in Harlem successful.
Now we have it in Brooklyn a financial and cultural loss to Harlem..but Brooklyn made out..
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Labor_Day_Carnival
Anyone ever visited labor Day Carnival ?