This Heavy Metal Is Panning Out

Steel Drum Program Leads to Success

At first glance, the connection between drumming on a steel pan and doing well on a science project might not seem clear. But 10-year-old Gordon Marshall is sure the two are linked.

Gordon spends his Saturdays at the Cultural Academy for Excellence (called CAFE) in Hyattsville. There, he and 60 other kids ages 7 to 18 learn about the art and music of the West Indies and Africa, and hopefully are challenged to do well in school the rest of the week.

Like most CAFE kids, Gordon plays the steel pan, an instrument invented in the 1930s on the Caribbean island of Trinidad (now part of the country Trinidad and Tobago). The discipline required for music has carried over to his other studies: "I won first place in the science fair at Paint Branch Elementary School," he says proudly, also crediting CAFE with improving "my language and math skills."

That, in short, is CAFE's mission. The program began 10 years ago in Prince George's County with the motto "Dare to Dream -- Prepare to Succeed."

Riverdale's Sherylene Grice, 14, has attended CAFE for nearly three years. An expert in steel pan music, she specializes in the cellos, one of 11 instruments in the pan family. She, too, has noticed a carry-over into the rest of her life. "I benefited from CAFE in so many ways," she says. "It gives me the support I need in building my self-esteem."

From Biscuit Tins to Steel Pan

So what exactly is this instrument that helps kids feel better about themselves and do better in school?

The steel pan (sometimes called a steel drum) is the only non-electric musical instrument invented in the 20th century.

Drums, long popular in Trinidad, were banned in 1883 by British colonial rulers who feared they would be used to send secret messages encouraging a revolt. By the late 1930s drums were no longer prohibited, and islanders began making music using empty biscuit tins, paint cans and, eventually, big steel drums. There were lots of 55-gallon shipping drums around because of the island's oil industry and the large U.S. Navy presence during World War II.

How a Drum Is Made

It takes a lot of time and patience to make a steel drum. First, a designer pounds the drum's bottom into a bowl-like shape, called a pan. This process, called sinking, can last several hours. Notes are then marked and grooved in the pan in various sizes and depths.

Drums are cut into different lengths (or skirts). The result is a range of sound from the lowest bass to the highest treble. The metal is heated, then cooled. The pan is now ready to be fine-tuned. As a last step, it's covered with zinc or another material to prevent rust.

A steel drum costs around $1,000; the CAFE orchestra has about 40 of them, executive director Lorna Green says. It's one of the easier instruments to learn, so the kids get a real sense of accomplishment as they begin to play Afro-Caribbean, jazz, pop and classical music. They also learn music theory and take exams from the London-based Associate Board of the Royal Schools of Music.

"We're very strong on discipline," says Green. "We let them know that, to be successful, you have to have discipline."

-- Lystra Lashley