Tuned steel pans were invented on the beautiful carribean island of Trinidad in 1938 by Winston "Spree" Simon. The first pans were made from biscuit or paint tins and later people began to use oil drums. Today steel bands exist all over the world and the sound is familiar to everyone. Many schools have steel bands which run alongside their other school ensembles such as choirs and orchestras.
...[more]Maracas
The maracas are one of the most instantly satisfying percussion instruments: easy to play and capable of many different effects. Maracas originate from Central and South America where legend tells of a goddess wrapping white stones in a calabash gourd (the dried fruit of a calabash tree) to make the first maraca. As well as gourds, today they are made out plastic, metal, woven baskets or wood as in the picture opposite. And inside: anything from dried peas to shotgun pellets will do to make the shaking sound....[more]
Panpipes or Siku
Panpipes are among the most ancient of musical instruments and evidence has been found for them in all ancient societies. In modern times they have remained particularly popular in Romania and China, but it is the South American variety, the Siku that seems to have captured the world's imagination and today the sound can be heard everywhere. The Peruvian Siku is made of two rows of pipes tied together and comes in many sizes.
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