I’m With the Band: Cultural Education and Community Formation Within Steel Bands

Abstract

How do a steel band’s practices, customs, and traditions create its unique social culture, and how are these practices rooted in the cultural history of the instrument? This text examines the history and evolution of the steel pan in Trinidad, and draws conclusions about how steel bands, both in Trinidad and elsewhere in the world, form communities through practices that are rooted in this history, such as liming and learning by rote. This project used one steel band, Texas A&M University's Maroon Steel, as a case study to compare against Trinidadian steel bands, observing both traditional and modern practices to determine the presence of any significant similarities and if so, the reasons for those similarities.