The story of the Steelpan | Mia Gormandy-Benjamin | TEDxPortofSpainWomen
URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sD3fCHb5_ZU Video ID: sD3fCHb5_ZU ============================================================ [Music] [Applause] [Music] six years ago I had a conversation with a 16-year-old boy I refer to him as Joseph Joseph was finishing his Secondary School exams and he was really interested in pursuing a bachelor's degree in music with steel pan as his main instrument so he came to me and he told me of his interest and I asked him a question that I normally ask all candidates who are interested in pursuing a bachelor's degree at the University of Trinidad and Tobago I asked him why do you want to study music and still pan his response was one I will never forget it sounded something like this I come from a family of crime know my cousins and them my older brothers and them on the street I have little brothers and sisters coming up and that's all they seeing for their future I am a good pan and I know I could be a successful musician one day and I want to show them there's an alternative way of living life it is a conversation I will continue to remember even though the sentiments there were something that was not unfamiliar because we've had a few candidates Express something similarly but in this case Joseph was particularly interested passionate and he had a mission today Joseph is a graduate of the academy for the Performing Arts he holds a bachelor's degree in Fine Arts he's a working professional and he continues to be an example for his family some of his family members actually are currently playing the steel pan and are contributing to the communities that we call the panyards for Joseph he saw the steel pan as an alternative way of life a way from one that was carded for him from birth so I'm here to ask you what do you think about when you see this instrument I'm just going to give you a minute just to really think about it what do you think about when you see this this is a steel pan it was invented right here in Trinidad in the late 1930s and of course was developed throughout the 40s the 50s and of course we have a beautiful instrument today the steel pan is one of significance not only is it a symbol of national pride not only does it represent culture music competition for some of us Carnival It's actually an instrument that lives in over 40 countries around the world for some this is an alternative way of life for others it provides a euphoric experience that cannot be duplicated and for some this is a symbol of social change in Israel and Palestine there was a peace drums project that started in 2014 and it was instituted as a way to promote positive experiences and build communities regardless of religious cultural and societal differences this steelband project created an environment in a region that was so heavily rooted in war especially based on religion today you will actually find steel bands where there are Arab Christians Arab Muslims and Jewish youth performing all together in one steel band this environment has created a space to build on those communities to merge the lines of division can you imagine the impact a project like that can have on that region if it were to be expanded it is something significant that I wanted to share with you today during the pandemic the world saw several areas of contention including the black lives matter movement pan in unity was a project that was produced to unify persons from around the world with the steel pan at the center this virtual project featured 691 pists from 23 countries around the world countries that I was also was surprised to see Bahrain Indonesia South Africa Finland even United Arab Emirates through this project we saw a number of persons representing different cultures around the world coming together to unify and to show that no matter what culture you come from and no matter what region you come from we can all be unified through music and through steel pan in these three examples I have shown that the steel pan is beyond the music it produces music let's talk a little bit about the music after all this is a musical instrument the music in particular that a steel pant can play is very versatile it can play Jazz anyone who's on a steel pan can play hip hop Indian classical music Western classical music you name it it can be performed on the steel pan of course Calypso SOA and other styles of music this instrument is also one that you will find in schools right here in Trinidad and Tobago we have primary schools secondary schools University level education we even have youth orchestras that brings communities together we have professional pannists who have pursued steel pan and music as a career and have shown that is that it is viable for example so the steel pan has had a very significant place in the lives of many in addition it is an excellent educational tool now I can tell you about all the reasons why this instrument is an exceptional educational tool but I'll just give you two reasons for now the first is that it's beginner friendly usually many instruments require a sort of steep learning curve have you heard someone trying to learn to play the violin the steel pan with just one quick hit of the the rest can produce a beautiful sound in fact my daughter when she was 8 months old was able to produce her first Melody on the steel pan so this instrument is beginner friend friendly and can adapt to almost anybody that positions themselves behind it secondly through root learning and even learning via score you're able to build and develop a space awareness which then helps you to follow along with someone who's playing next to you on this side and on this side and through that process of learning and memorizing music it builds transferable skills that you can take in the classroom when I was growing up I was able to use the steel pan in my mind and to use those skills to help me learn my schoolwork when I was just a child so these skills are quite important and we see that the steel pan is at the center of these very important areas that we can develop so this instrument which was birthed to people who were told they were nothing turned into something special it turned into something that can create crosscultural connections for example during the virtual steelband project we had a Japanese panis came to us and said that they were traveling to Spain and they wanted to make connections with the Spanish panis who participated in the virtual steelband project we said sure let's make the connection they met in Spain and that was an example of the cross-cultural connections that this instrument can actually provide so I'm here to ask ask you again what do you think when you see this instrument how can you be a part of this Global Steel pan movement that is spreading like wildfire do you perhaps have interactions with atrisk youth or someone who you think might need a different direction in life perhaps steel plan is the solution are you a part of community that is divided whether it's through religion culture Society even economic backgrounds perhaps the steel ban is the solution are you a part of an educational movement maybe you have children that's in the educational system maybe you are learning and in education yourself and you're looking for different ways in which to engage them and to help with the way in which they engage with new materials perhaps the steel pan is the solution so I'm here to encourage you and to guide you and to ask you how are you positioning yourself and aligning yourself with this very important steelband movement as we Contin continue to see it grow across the world thank [Applause] [Music] [Applause] you