What If A Woman Invented Pan?
Kim Johnson, Director of the Carnival Institute of Trinidad and Tobago answers
Kim Johnson reminds us that without the women in their lives, the men who are considered pan pioneers would not have the musical knowledge to move much further than the hammer.
Few men knew any music theory, so the knowledge required for tuning notes usually came from some panman’s sister or aunt.
[It was an] orchestrated, instrumental music, and its practitioners needed to know: How do you build a chord? How do different pans harmonise even when they are playing different melodies? [At one time] in Trinidad and Tobago, the only people who were formally trained in music were females, all of whom received piano lessons, and boys who went to the orphanage, and then moved into the police band.
“Pan” refers to an instrument (steelpan), an ensemble (steelband), a movement and a type of music. Once we realize that we know that pan was invented by both men and women.
Kim Johnson was a journalist and is currently the Director of the Carnival Institute of T&T. He has published several books on the culture of T&T, including: Descendants of the Dragon – the Chinese presence in T&T; and Tin Pan to TASPO: Origins of the Steelband Movement. His latest project is the second edition of his book, The Illustrated Story of Pan II. Support the campaign and get your hands on a limited edition copy.
He has written and/or directed several films, including PAN! Our Music Odyssey, and Re-Percussions, both of which won prizes at film festivals. Wishing For Wings, his drama based on Debbie Jacob’s memoir of the same name, is under consideration by international networks.