Resources for First Time Steelband Directors
Teaching a Steelband for the first time can be a bit daunting but it is especially daunting for those who are not familiar with the instrument, it’s music, culture, technique, maintenance, etc. There are resources out there but they can be hard to find or filter so I hope this page is helpful for those who need it. This is meant to be a jump-off point rather than a fix-all solution. Like everything else in music, Pan can be a lifelong pursuit with never-ending challenges, experiences, information, etc.
Check out the resources and links on this page to find the info and techniques that work for you and your situation. If you have questions or issues or just need to know where to look next, please do not hesitate to reach out. Everyone I have met in the Pan community is very kind and wants to help propel this artform forward. I hope to do the same with this page. Best of luck in your preparations and welcome to the pan community!
Shameless Plug Time! : I have put together “The New Steelband Director’s Survival Kit” and I would love for you to check it out. I wish this collection of materials was around when I was getting started with my steelband! It would have saved me countless hours of creating resources, writing out exercises, researching, and ultimately would have helped me get better results much faster. This survival kit includes resources covering the Steelpan Family, Tamboo Bamboo, Scales, History, Engine Room Parts, Tunes by Rote, Rhythm Reading, Technique/Grip, Rehearsing a Steelband, and some starter tunes. I hope that it will serve many new and current directors by allowing them to leap past the initial and recurring hurdles they face with confidence. Thank you for your hard work and dedication to pan! Let’s keep this beautiful artform moving forward! -Jordan
If you are a new steelband director hoping to start off strong or an experienced director hoping for more ready-made resources, this is the book for you! This collection of resources should help in many different ways including: building your confidence, saving you from spending time creating your own resources from scratch, saving you time from researching answers in multiple places to get started, providing insight into various aspects of steelpan, providing you with daily warmup and music fundamentals materials, giving techniques and tips to help you navigate successful rehearsals, providing resources to teach engine room/tunes by rote/tamboo bamboo, and 6 compositions for early steelband. The ways that you utilize these materials are only limited by your imagination!
A note from Jordan: "I sincerely hope that this book helps some steelband directors find their footing or at least gain some info and resources to make their journey easier. I’m sure I’ve made some mistakes in this book but hopefully you can forgive and look past those or at least get in touch and tell me! The goal here was to create something that helps to get people geared up and empowered to get started. I would love to connect with you to hear how you’ve utilized these materials. Thank you for your hard work and dedication to pan! Let’s keep this beautiful artform moving forward!" - Jordan Morrison
These resources are available for purchase separately but this book provides much more value! 199 pages of steelpan materials, resources, music, etc.!
Total Value = $215
Price = $125
$90 Savings!
Table of Contents
- The Steelpan Instrument Family: An introduction to the Steelpan instrument family. Include the various types of Pans, their Roles in the steelband, General Ranges and Layouts. $15 Value
- Abbreviated Historical Timeline of the Steelpan: Print-ready timeline covering some of the important events and evolutions of the steelpan from the 1800s to present day. $10 Value
- Steelpan Grip, Technique, and Parts of the Steelpan: Print-ready page with visual and written instructions on the parts of the steelpan, grip, and playing technique. $5 Value
- Steelpan Care & Maintenance: Print-ready page with written instructions on how to take care of a steelpan, teaching respect, and sourcing tuning and assistance from the steelpan community. $5 Value
- Before and During Steelband Rehearsal: A reference on things to consider, rehearsal techniques and tips, selecting music, steelband layout suggestions, and challenges of rehearsing a steelband. $5 Value
- Steelband Engine Room Parts: A reference on characteristic grooves for Soca, Calypso, Reggae, Cha-Cha, Bossa Nova, and Rock/Pop. $25 Value
- Teaching Tamboo Bamboo w/ Performance Parts: A reference on how to approach teaching and playing Tamboo Bamboo. Includes a print-ready student history handout, suggested instruments, how to play, performance parts(4 levels), etc. $15 Value
- Teaching Tunes by Rote w/ 3 Rote Cheat Sheets: A reference on how to select, arrange, and teach a tune by rote plus 3 print-ready rote cheat sheets for directors to start their band into rote learning immediately. $20 Value
- Major & Minor Scales for Steelband: All 12 Major and Natural Minor Scales for the whole steelband to practice/learn together (including drum set & engine room parts). Use as a daily warmup, theory study, prep tool for new tunes, etc. $25 Value
- Steelband Rhythm Reading Packet: 3 levels of rhythm reading for the whole steelband to practice/learn/read together (including drum set & engine room parts). Use as a daily warmup, sight-reading, rhythm reinforcement for tunes, etc. $30 Value
- 6 Compositions for Early Steelband: 6 beginner-friendly tunes in a variety of styles: Calypso, Soca, Cha-Cha, Reggae, and Jazz Waltz. $60 Value
Helpful Links
NSSBE - National Society of Steel Band Educators : Great resources(member and free resources available) for beginning directors, home of The Steel Times Magazine, and the host of an annual NSSBE Conference which is an excellent way to meet people in the pan community, ask questions, learn, and leave feeling empowered and inspired.
Free Steelband Music Online - Emily Lemmerman has been compiling compositions and arrangements from lots of people to put into this google drive folder. You will need to request access to see it but There are lots of titles in there by lots of great composers and arrangers.
Teaching Strategies for Beginner Steelband: First Steps - CJ Menge : A well-written article(PDF) that includes good habits, first week ideas, teaching strategies, engine room info, and a few reference scores.
Trinidad & Tobago Music Library : A great place to start learning about and exploring various aspects of steelpan, T&T culture, history, music, etc.
Steelband Arranging Cheatsheet - Jordan Morrison : This document will help you get started with arranging for steelband. This is something that most directors end up needing/wanting to do at some point so I hope this document makes that easier to jump into.
Steelband for Everyone! - Sara DiPardo & Mike Wendeln (FMEA Convention 2014) : Some good info(PDF) to start on lots of topics including pan layouts, playing technique, Engine Room Instruments/Patterns, Where to get music, band setup, suggested listening, and more.
The Steel Band Game Plan: Strategies for Starting, Building, and Maintaining Your Pan Program - Chris Tanner : Great resource(book for purchase) that includes topics like instrumentation, personnel, basic pan technique, repertoire, rehearsal strategies, and more. Great for anyone starting a new program or already running one.
So, You Want to Start a Steelband: Common sense tips for the uninitiated director - David Knapp : Quick snippets(Powerpoint slides) on lots of topics including a brief steelpan history, musical styles, pan in education, instrumentation, builders, tuning, literature, fundraising, books, movies, classroom management, and more.
Steelband Directors Facebook Group : A great and welcoming group of people who are ready to answer questions to help you and your program get rolling or keep moving forward!
Steelpan Tips, Info & Advice : Brief summarized info on many topics including history, creation, transortation, festivals, education, and more.
The Pan Page : An extenside resource that includes building, measurements, history, tuners, organizations, bands, links, reading, articles, and much more!
This interactive Steelpan Family graphic is a great way for you to get to know the instruments you have or might encounter. Use it for your own education or during your class to show your students more info about the steelband.
These 6 short and simple exercises are a great way to play some first notes together, work in some easy sight reading, work on balance, and tone production. These pages start with unison rhythms and pitches and working toward 2 two rhythms and harmony. Print the whole score for everyone and they can start to see how the parts lock together. I hope you put these to good use!
