A Spoonful of Sugar - Trinidad and Tobago Showboat Orchestra

All of the week we are listening to covers that use instruments that are not often found in popular music. This is Unconventional Instrument Week. Today's unconventional instrument is one that is actually pretty conventional in Trinidad and Tobago, in fact it is their national instrument! I'm talking about the steelpan.

The steelpan is also known as the steel drum, referring to the fact that the original steelpans were made out of steel oil drums used for shipping large quantities of oil. The instrument is actually called a steelPAN as it does not fall into the drum/percussion family of instruments.

Each steelpan can carry a different tone depending on its size. The larger and longer the barrel, the lower the tone. Different notes can be played on one steelpan depending on where on the playing surface the mallets strike.

Although they are not often heard in popular music, steelpans are used on occasion, the first instance being Carrie Anne by the Hollies in 1967. Steelbands have grown significantly in number since the formation of the first steelbands in the late 30s, and now there is even the World Steelband Music Festival that has been held in Trinidad every year since 1964, the largest steelband gathering in the world!

Take a listen to the excellent steelband style of the TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO SHOWBOAT ORCHESTRA as they play Mary Poppins' A Spoonful of Sugar, which can be found on BEAUTY AND THE BEAT: FAVORITE DISNEY TUNES IN STEELBAND STYLE.