Steel Drummer My Story

This story belongs to Reiss

and Uncle Jamma.

It is a tiny tale

about Uncle Jamma's life

and the things he used to do.

Ready? One, two, go!

Reiss and Uncle Jamma are playing catch in Uncle Jamma's garden.

Got that one. OK.

-You haven't been practising?

-No, I haven't.

-But I'm still a bit good.

-Yeah, you're very good.

Now it's time for Uncle Jamma to share his memories

and take Reiss on a journey of discovery.

Uncle Jamma is a musician.

He plays the steel pans, which

are special instruments that sound like this.

This is Uncle Jamma's house and this is the special room where

he records his music.

Reiss is listening to his favourite band on headphones.

-OK, Reiss, what are you listening to there?

-One Direction.

-One Direction? Why do you like it?

-Cos it's got a sweet drum to it.

That's interesting.

What kind of music do you like?

I like all different kinds of music, but I really enjoy calypso music.

Calypso music comes from the islands of Trinidad and Tobago,

which are in the Caribbean.

People have been playing calypso music there for over 100 years,

which is a very long time.

Calypso music has a special beat which makes people want to dance.

This beat is often played on the steel pan,

which is the national instrument of Trinidad and Tobago.

And we also play it and enjoy it here.

My daddy's teaching me how to play the steel pans.

Wow, that's wonderful! I love the sound of those instruments.

-I started playing the steel pans when I was a little boy.

-How old were you?

I was just nine years old.

And it was your daddy that taught me to play. Yeah.

Reiss's dad, Norman,

is Uncle Jamma's big brother.

Let's look at some old pictures of them when they were little boys.

When I was a youngster at school, we had the steel pans.

We used to practise every day after school.

But we loved playing the steel pans so much

that even in our dinner break,

we never used to have any dinner, we just would be in the room

playing music until we said, "Oh, gosh, I'm hungry."

All this practising paid off because Uncle Jamma has won

lots of competitions for playing the steel pans.

Here he is winning one of his many trophies.

But before Uncle Jamma

learned to play the steel pans,

he used to play a different type of pan.

So when me and your dad were young,

little like you, right,

we'd run in the kitchen, right,

and get pots and pans, just like these,

and we'd play music like this.

-That sounds like a real steel pan.

-Doesn't it?

Probably because it's metal. And when we're using metal...

And this one will give a different sound.

And we used to be doing that for hours.

-That one, too.

-Yeah, you want to try that one?

-Yes, please.

Yeah, and you're actually playing a calypso rhythm.

-Did you want to try that again?

-Yeah.

-One, two, three, four.

-Yay! Do you want to give me a high five?

-Yeah.

-OK.

Another great instrument for playing a calypso beat is the bass guitar.

All right.

-That's a nice beat.

-It's a nice beat?

When people come together, we call it a jam session.

That's why people call me Jamma, cos I like to jam.

I think we should have a jam session with you on the pots

and pans and me on the bass.

All right, get your sticks ready.

-Whoa, how was that?

-Fine.

A long time ago, people in Trinidad used to play music on pots

and pans, too.

They made music with anything made of metal, like biscuit tins,

dustpan lids and old oil drums.

There were lots of oil drums in Trinidad

because there were lots of oil rigs pumping oil from under the sea.

People found that if they hammered dents in an oil drum,

different notes could be played on it.

And that's how the steel pan was invented.

Now it's time for Uncle Jamma to give Reiss a steel pan lesson.

-This is my favourite steel pan here.

-Why is it your favourite steel pan?

Because it makes a beautiful sound and it looks beautiful.

You've got a very nice steel pan here.

-Do you want to play me a tune?

-Yes, please.

-OK, let's hear it.

-Wow, that's brilliant!

-Thank you.

I think I should be getting lessons from you.

-Would you like to learn a song?

-Yes, please.

-Right, I'm going to teach you a song that's called Dancing.

-OK.

You'll play one part, I'll play something different.

-OK.

-OK, so let's try. We're going to start here. We're going to go...

Look, there are lots of oval-shaped dents on the surface

of the steel pan.

-Do you want to try that?

-Yes, please.

Hitting a big oval makes a low note

and hitting a small oval makes a high note.

Wow, you're brilliant! You're really good.

I'm going to put on some music that's going to be playing behind us.

Remember the jamming and the calypso? It's going to be like that.

-OK.

-OK.

One, two, three, four...

Not too fast, not too fast.

-Wow, Reiss, you are really the best, man.

-Thanks.

-Give me a high five.

All right.

Wow, what a musical family.

Let's go and meet Reiss' dad, Norman.

He's really musical, too.

-This is my dad.

-Hello!

It's dad Norman's job to make steel pans.

And he's going to show Reiss how he makes the musical notes.

This is called tuning.

Well, Reiss, this is an old drum which

we start off with to make a steel drum.

This is one I have finished.

This is one I'm going to work on now.

I'll show you how to tune it.

-It looks like hard work.

-It is very hard work.

I have all these different hammers and tools to tune it with.

I'm going to use my very small one first of all. OK?

And first of all, I listen to the sound of the notes.

-That looks like a kiddie's hammer.

-Yes, it's a very small baby hammer.

-OK.

-Do you use all of them?

I use all different ones at different stages.

Like the big one for the biggest notes?

Yes, I've got this very big one when I'm doing the bass. OK?

And I've got this very small one,

-which I'll use now on this pan here.

-OK.

-OK?

How does that machine work?

Well, this machine...

First of all, I listen to the notes on this machine here. OK?

That tells me what note it is. Then it has a microphone in it here,

which listens to the notes. And then this display spins around.

When it stands still, it means the note is correct.

You mean, when those flashing red little bits flash,

and they're standing still, does that mean it's got the right note?

That's right. When it's standing

-still, it's the right note, yeah. Will I show you?

-Yes, please.

-OK.

Now we listen to the sound.

Then I'm going to hammer the drum from underneath.

Dad Norman is making a dent with the hammer.

That's loud.

Now I'm going to tap it from above now and get the right sound on it.

-Does that sound right now?

-Yeah.

-Let's have a listen as well.

-Let's use our ears to listen when it sounds correct.

-OK.

Sounds right, OK?

How long does it take to make a steel pan?

About three days it will take me to make one.

That's a long time.

It's a lot of hard work as well.

Well, that was a good job, Reiss. Thank you for helping me.

-You've been a great help.

-Thank you.

What an interesting job dad Norman has.

Now, let's meet another member of Reiss's musical family.

This is my cousin Jamani. He's cool.

Hello.

This is an old picture of Jamani in his daddy's steel pan.

He is Uncle Jamma's son and he started playing the steel pans

when he was even younger than Reiss is.

He released his first CD when he was still at school

and he has travelled the world playing the steel pans.

Now, it's time for something really special -

the first-ever performance of Reiss's very own steel band.

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, welcome to the Reiss Steel Band.

-Yeah!

-Yeah!

KIDS: Yay!

What a brilliant calypso concert and what a talented family they are.

Thank you, Uncle Jamma, for letting me play in my own steel band today.

That's a real special pleasure.

Can you remember the special things we've done?

Playing the pots and pans in the garden.

You gave me a steel pan lesson, which was great fun.

Daddy showed me how he makes a steel pan.

Then everyone in the family played in Reiss's steel band.

It was amazing!

What was your favourite thing today, Uncle Jamma?

My favourite thing was playing in the band in front

of all the children and especially playing next to you.

-That was my favourite thing, too.

-That's brilliant.

I think you should give me a high five. All right.

What a fabulous heap of fun!

That was Reiss and Uncle Jamma's tiny tale about the things

Uncle Jamma used to do.

Now Uncle Jamma has shared his story with Reiss,

it's time for Reiss to start his own story.

Do you know someone who has a story to share?