The story of Panyard and the Jumbie Jam
One of our most popular education instruments is the Jumbie Jam steel pan, manufactured in the USA by Panyard. With their striking and colourful designs, instructively labelled surfaces and authentically Caribbean-inspired tone, it’s no wonder these instruments are a big hit with schools for Whole Class Ensemble Teaching (WCET): Non-specialist teachers can quickly grasp the foundations and stay a step ahead of their pupils. At the same time, students will not be overwhelmed due to the sophisticated yet simplified nature of the instrument – it’s a win for all involved.
However, Panyard’s products are more than just a facilitator for entry-level music education. They are meticulously crafted, lovingly designed instruments, very much an extension of the long and storied steel pan tradition which still thrives to this day.
The origins of steel pan music
The steel pan comes from southernmost island in the West Indies, Trinidad and Tobago. Following the Slavery Abolition Act of 1833-4, the cultural landscape of the island was gradually changing. Throughout the rest of the 19th century, a carnival tradition began to spread, with drum music playing an important role in enlivening celebrations and strengthening community engagement. Those who were once slaves could now enjoy these carnival activities, but the increase in popularity and vibrancy was somewhat muted by the island’s British colonial authorities.
In 1881, ‘the British government tried to ban the performers' sticks and drums’[1], and then in 1934 they banned ‘Tamboo Bamboo’ - carved sticks which were slammed on the ground to make rhythmic patterns - partially due to the risk of them being used as weapons. Percussion like this was the forebear of the steel pan tradition, which started to gain momentum in the 1930s as a more gentle alternative to Tamboo Bamboo.
"It was a slow process, everyone got together and invented the steel pan by using pots and pans and testing them out. The sound and the notes came, but it wasn't like we thought about it.”
- Sterling Betancourt, a Trinidadian Panman[2]
A more standardised concept of the steel pan was developed over the 1940s and early 50s: A bowl-shaped sheet of metal with precise convex ‘dents’ of different dimensions to make a variety of pitches. In this form, steel pans have proliferated around the world, including in the UK, first appearing on British TV in June 1950 when Trinidadian Boscoe Holder and his Caribbean Dancers performed with a steel band on the BBC.
In 1951, a band of steel pan all-stars was put together in Trinidad to enter the Festival of Britain. It was called The Trinidad All Steel Percussion Orchestra (TASPO) and proved popular in Europe, performing in various UK locations and in Paris. In fact, steel pan music has been widely adopted as a community music-making tradition, true to its Trinidadian origins.
Indeed, the beginnings of Panyard Inc. – the world’s leading steel pan manufacturer – lie in Trinidad itself:
‘Panyard, Inc. was formally incorporated in 1990 [but] the roots of the company go back several years before that. Ron Kerns, Panyard’s CEO, founder and owner, spent years in Trinidad, honing his pan-playing skills and learning more about the history of culture of the area. As he tells it, he was hooked from the moment he first heard a steel band.’
- From Panyard’s website
Kerns is a passionate, lifelong steel pan afficionado with a deep understanding of and respect for the history and tradition of pan making.
Panyard didn’t initially make the drums themselves. Kerns, along with fellow founder Shelly Irvine started out selling their transcriptions of pan music, which they recorded themselves on a number of visits to the Caribbean island. This in itself proves their knowledge of, and passion for the steel pan tradition. Eventually, ‘in an effort to bring the joy of pan to a global audience’ they decided to start making the drums themselves, in the USA.
The company name is derived from an important word in the Steel Pan vernacular:
The Panyard – a place where steelbands practice and store their instruments[3]
A feat of acoustical engineering
The manufacturing process involves precise acoustical engineering. According to Panyard, ‘the steelpan is created through a process of hammering and shaping discarded oil drums’. This technique is called ‘sinking’ and must be done very precisely, considering the shape of the entire drum and how each dip will affect all the pitches of all the others in turn. Each pan is pressed from a single sheet of steel, hand hammered to fine tune and then powder coated.
‘The science of steelpan manufacturing is a testament to the ingenuity and skill of the craftspeople who create these instruments. By combining their deep understanding of materials science, acoustics, and music theory, they are able to transform humble oil drums into world-class musical instruments.’
- From Panyard’s own article about the manufacturing of steel pans
Panyard also make a huge range of their own mallets in Akron, Ohio, the company’s home city, once known as “The Rubber Capital of the World”.
The Jumbie Jam
Jumbie Jam provides the definitive entry point for those looking to get into playing steel pan. It is a simple, diatonic[4] pan in G major with a one octave range. Removing a number of complicating musical variables is a brilliant way to promote quick learning, as students can start making good sounding music straight away.
The drum surfaces are laid out like so:
The superb manufacturing standards are particularly important in this case; because the resonance and tone of the instrument is so good, even relatively simple melodies sound pleasant and harmonious.
Jumbie Jam’s education credentials are enhanced by the variety of stands offered with the pans. They can be bought directly with:
- Modular tube stands (height adjustable)
- Table top stands
- Z stands
The pans can be bought in packs of 4, well suited to the education market, and Panyard are also careful to make things as classroom-safe as possible; their mallets are tipped with rubber at both ends to protect the pan from the non-playing end of the mallet (and indeed the playing end when used by more boisterous pupils).
Suitable education resources
A wide selection of supporting books are available alongside the Jumbie Jam range, helping to use them for WCET. One of the most prominent is Andy Gleadhill’s Caribbean Steel Pan Book. Although all the tunes and exercises in the book can be played on any steel pan instrument, Andy focusses specifically on the Jumbie Jam steel pan and its use in educational settings. He walks through basic techniques and warm-up exercises, whilst helping teachers and their students progress rapidly through 10 weekly lessons to the point where the class can perform a range of pieces.
Other supporting books are also available, making the Jumbie Jam a truly versatile investment for music education:
- Jumbie Jam Beginner's Guide and Song Book – a bespoke guide for the Jumbie Jam, helping establish a solid foundation in playing technique, instrument care and effective practice habits
- Trinidad’s musical journey - Introduces the world of steel drums and percussion to students while taking a musical journey through Trinidad & Tobago!
- Jumbie Jam - Popular Song Book
- Island tunes for steel drum
Some books even use a ‘song by letter’ notation format, where the notes are stated as letters, making learning easier for those without prior musical experience; the letters are both in the book and on the surface of instrument itself.
We’ve been fortunate to partner closely with Panyard over the last 14 years, including exhibiting jointly at trade shows such as the Musikmesse in Frankfurt and NAMM in Los Angeles. They are a wonderfully characterful company making excellent, education-focused instruments with great reverence for an important community music tradition.
[1] BBC News (2012) ‘A brief history of the steel pan’, https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-18903131
[2] Ibid.
[3] Smith, A. (2012) ‘Steel Drums and Steelbands: A History’, United Kingdom: Scarecrow Press.
[4] Diatonic - involving only the notes of a certain scale, in this case G major, without additional chromatic notes.