This post features the steel bands of Antigua stamps from 1974. Fun biographical Fact. When I was a music major at the University of South Dakota I was a part of the steel drum ensemble. For several years I played the bass pans, six large steel drums that had each been fashioned into a musical instrument that played a handful of bass pitches and together providing enough notes to provide the foundation for the steel pan ensemble.
Steel Pans
Souvenir sheet, Scott Number AT056
Steel pans were first created in Trinidad and Tobago. These islands are home to a great supply of oil. In World War II, this oil became vital to the allied cause and the industry on the island took off. The American navy even set up bases there to protect the vital production of oil.
Musicians began to make music by banging on oil drums, discovering that by manipulating the metal, different pitches could be created. This developed over many years as players perfected how to get beautiful pitches from the instrument.
In 1953, Anthony Williams created his so-called “Spider Web” soprano pan. His design laid pitches out in a circle according to the musical circle-of-fifths. His design revolutionized steel drums and would become the basis of design for steel drums of all sizes.
In addition to the soprano pan, other larger pans provide alto, tenor, and bass voices. Lower pitches require greater surface area for the note, so a player needs more pans to play all the notes. In a steel drum band, some players have two, three, or more pans when they play. The barrel of the drum serves as a resonator, with lower notes needing a long resonating chamber. Bass pans need the entire drum shell, while higher pitched drums are shallower.
Steel Bands of Antigua
In 1945, workers from Antigua were on their way back from Venezuela when they stopped in Trinidad. There they heard steel drums played for the first time. These workers took the idea back to Antigua and soon were developing their own instruments based on the idea.
Antigua soon developed their own tradition of steel band music. Bands in the island began competing at carnival in 1949. The first steel band recordings were made in Antigua in 1955. To celebrate this long tradition of steel drum music, the government issued the postage stamp series for Carnival in 1974.
The Hells Gate Steel Drum band was formed in 1947 and continues to this day. They were also among the first bands to be recorded.
