Study/Curriculum Guide
for Ian Dobson's Pan Leggo
www.iandobson.com
Meet the Artist
Ian is a Seattle native who turned his back on the fame and fortune of
grunge stardom to travel the world performing and learning about the music
of various cultures. His travels took him all over Europe, South Asia,
Southeast Asia, South and Central America, Mexico, and the United States.
In the course of his musical adventures around the world he earned a Jazz
Studies B.Mus and a Percussion Performance M.M. from the University of
Washington, a B.A. in History from Pomona College, and he studied at the
Oberlin Conservatory and the University of Lisbon. He also has an academic
background in digital media and languages and is fluent in Spanish and
Portuguese. His first love is drum set and he studied timpani, marimba,
vibraphone, piano, and other instruments starting at a young age. In 1995
Ian was asked to play drum set in the Pan Leggo Steelband, which got its
start at Oberlin College. He became the band’s leader in 1997 and soon
realized that this was the chance he had always wanted to learn to play the
steel drums himself.
Ian’s musical hallmark is his ability to take disparate cultural influences and
mix them together. To offer a few examples, he puts the Caribbean steel
drum in jazz and classical settings, playing John Coltrane and Nikolai RimskyKorsakov, and he takes popular American standbys, such as those by Jimmy
Buffett, and transforms them by incorporating Salsa, Calypso, or other
Latin/world rhythms. He loves to combine musical elements to make music
of other cultures accessible to North Americans. At the same time, he is a
great fit for communities with a large Hispanic population as his shows tend
to resonates culturally with many Latinos and can be conducted in Spanish
and/or English.
Ian defines his job as “musician and world music guide.” He is equal parts
performing artist, teacher, and travel guide and his vision is to bring the
world together through music and technology.
About the Performance:
In the Caribbean “pan leggo” means steel drum party. Singing, dancing,
juggling, and performing on steel drums and other percussion instruments,
Ian recounts his quirky musical journey from Seattle grunge kid through the
shared roots of rock and Caribbean music to steel drum musician. In the
process students get to experience percussion playing, singing, dancing,
Spanish language and Caribbean English, and see examples of recycling,
repurposing, and resourcefulness. Ian’s goal is to share with students his
passion for music, travel, culture, language, and technology in the arts; to
instill in students a desire to explore cultures different from their own
through music; and to encourage students to be resourceful.
Student Learning Outcomes:
1. An understanding of basic rhythmic elements common to rock and
Caribbean music
2. An appreciation for creating beautiful and useful things by reusing and
repurposing materials
3. A sense of confidence and trust in their creative ideas
4. Have a basic encounter with Spanish and a different form of English
(Caribbean English)
5. Encourage curiosity about exploring other cultures through music
6. Exposure to some basic Caribbean dance styles
Preparing for the Performance:
1. Study the information included here on the performer
2. Use videos provided on Ian’s web site to learn basic Caribbean dance
steps (these skill will be used during the performance)
3. Use videos provided on Ian’s web site to learn basic rhythmic elements
common to rock and Caribbean music (these skills will be used during the
performance)
4. Use videos provided on Ian’s web site to learn basic terms in Spanish and
Caribbean English that pertain to Ian’s performance
5. Create, name, and learn to play their own musical instruments made from
recycled materials and, ideally, post videos or pictures of these on Ian’s web
site to share with other students and teachers around the world (students
will be asked to play their instruments during the performance and a few will
be selected to teach the performers how to play their original instruments
that they created). Please see apendix A.
6. Study information and links provided on Ian’s web site regarding the
history of rock n’ roll, Caribbean music, and steel drums
After the Performance:
1. Encourage continued creation of original instruments and music
2. Discuss the musical styles that were performed, listen to examples from
the artists web site, and have students locate on a map which country each
one is from
3. Further asynchronous and live on-line percussion study will be available at
www.iandobson.com for students who wish to pursue these topics further.
The web site uses the NING platform, which is popular among educators and
allows on-line interaction with Ian and other students and educators who are
having Ian perform at their school.
On-line asynchronous and real-time percussion lessons will be offered soon.
This may be particularly useful for more remote areas of BC.
Cross-Disciplinary Connections:
Connections can be made between this musical presentation and practically
any subject. Interactive groups for different subjects will be offered on
iandobson.com. For example:
1. History/Social Studies-the musical issues raised in this show relate to
slavery in North America and the Caribbean, cultural exchange between the
US and the Caribbean, and 20th century music history in North America.
2. Science-The physics of the steel drum are very complex and fascinating in
terms of how they work (nobody really completely understands it), which
notes can be placed next to each other, how they are created, etc.
3. Geometry-playing some steel drums requires the ability to visualize and
spin shapes in two dimensions.
4. Language-Ian’s presentation is rich in cultural material for Spanish classes
in particular.
5. Geography-Following Ian’s journey around the US and Caribbean and the
music associated with each place.
History of Steel Drums:
The story of how steel drums developed is a remarkable one. Slaves brought
their drumming traditions with them to the Americas. As in Africa, drumming
was used as a form of communication. African drumming traditions mingled
with East Indian drumming traditions in Trinidad since there were many East
Indian workers brought to Trinidad by the British. In 1783 drumming was
banned by the British out of fear that it would precipitate slave revolts and
unrest. Slaves simply began using bamboo as percussion instruments
instead. These bamboo bands were called “tamboo-bamboo.” Later tamboobamboo bands also began to use as musical instruments bits of metal junk
that were available. By the late 1930s there were occasional all-steel bands
seen at Carnival. By the 1940s these all-steel bands were the preferred
accompaniment for young, underprivileged men. This was sort the gangster
rap of it’s time. From there steel drums just continued to develop into the
highly-sophisticated and specialized art form that it is today.
Steel Drums Today:
The steel drum orchestra today is highly sophisticated and can have well over
100 members playing instruments all the way from the Soprano steel drum
to the bass steel drum. The focal point for steel pan culture is Panorama, an
enormous steel drum band competition that takes place at Carnival time in
Trinidad.
Vocabulary:
Clave Rhythm: The “son clave” is exactly the same as the characteristic
hambone rhythm. The “rumba clave” is very slightly different then the
hambone rhythm.
Double Seconds Pan: Alto of the steel drum family
Hambone: a style of dance that involves stomping as well as slapping and
patting the arms, legs, chest, and cheeks. Also a characteristic rhythm that
could be written as dotted quarter note, eight note tied to a quarter note,
quarter note, quarter rest, two quarter notes, and a quarter note rest.
Leggo: Let go, have a good time, party (Caribbean English)
Marimba: A pitched percussion instrument consisting of a set of wooden keys
or bars with resonators
Pan: A pitched percussion instrument generally made from recycled oil
barrels. In North America the pan is typically known as the “Steel drum.”
Salsa: Means “sauce” in Spanish. It’s original musical meaning is a mixture
of musical styles from various cultures.
Tenor Pan: Soprano of the steel drum family
Trinidad and Tobago: An island nation just off the coast of Venezuela where
steel drums developed.
A sample program:
1. Super Mario Brothers (composer)
Style: Calypso then Salsa then funk
Country where composed: Japan
2. Banana Boat Song (traditional)
Rumba then Salsa
Country where composed: Jamaica
3. Lion Sleeps Tonight (composer)
Style: Reggae
Country: South Africa
4. La Bamba (traditional)
Style: Rock then Cha Cha Cha
Country: Mexico (Caribbean Coast)
5. Flight of the Bumblebee (Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov)
Style: classical
Country: Russia
6. Ran Kan Kan (Tito Puente)
Style: fast salsa
Country: United States
7. Oye Como Va
Style: Cha Cha Cha
Country: United States
8. Son de la Loma (composer)
Style: Salsa
Country: Cuba
9. Shake Senora (Harry Belafonte)
Stlye: Calypso
Country: Trinidad and Tobago
Apendix A
Instrument making activity:
1. Ideally begin by providing your students with a little bit of background on
the steel drums. You can find a short historical summary above in this study
guide.
You might begin by playing the students some of Ian’s music. This can be
played off of the internet for free at
http://www.iandobson.com/panleggo/Music.html
For some brief pictorial history you can refer to this page:
http://www.steelisland.com/history.asp
The presentation doesn't have to be in-depth, maybe just 10-minutes. Just
enough to get across the point that this amazing instrument, the steel drum,
upon which you can play any music no matter how complicated, was created
out of necessity by people who had few resources. Since they didn't have
access to familiar musical instruments, they used their creativity and
resourcefulness to turn recycled metal junk into an amazing, unique new
breed of musical instruments.
2. After providing this little bit of background you issue the challenge: “I
know you are very creative and resourceful also, so your assignment is to
create your own, original musical instrument out of recycled materias.”
3. Here are the specifics of the activity:
A. Look around you in your house and your school. Find interesting-sounding
recycled materials from the recycling bin or elsewhere. Make sure to
experiment with how they sound (hit them, blow on them, etc.) The only
rules are A. NO GLASS, B. NOTHING SHARP (so make sure and remove sharp
edges from tin cans, etc.), C. MAKE SURE THE ITEM IS CLEAN.
Specific items we suggest are:
yogurt containers (with lids)
large plastic or metal containers are especially great
empty vitimin or pill containers
egg cartons
plastic bags (not too many of these please)
cardboard boxes
metal pipes
scraps of pvc pipe
Buckets are great!
etc.
B. If you want you can combine materials as well using tape or other
methods. How would that tea box sound taped to the top of the plastic
yogurt container? It is also okay to use noodles, beans, or other food items
to turn your recycled item into a shaker.
C. Maybe you want to decorate your recycled instrument with paint or any
other method.
D. When you finish your instrument, figure out all the ways you can make
sounds with your recycled instrument. Can you hit it with your hand to make
a nice sound? Can you hit it with a stick and make a cool sound? What
happens if you hit it in different spots, does it make different sounds? Is it
louder when you play it one way then when you play it another way? Can
you shake it and make a sound? How many different ways can you shake it?
E. Come up with a name for your instrument. It could be a name that
describes what the instrument does. For example, one student who made a
really fun looking shaker called it the supercalafradjashaker. Or the name
can have nothing to do with the sound of the instrument. You can call your
instrument “Frank” if it looks like “Frank” to you. You can name your
instrument anything you want, just be creative.
F. Practice your instrument so you learn how to play it. Remember, you are
the world’s expert on playing your instrument.