Trinidad Invades Kentucky!

The University of Kentucky Steel band came to our school last week. They played oil drums that had been dented to create different pitches. We learned that at one time drums were illegal in Trinidad, and so they invented a new instrument that would allow them to play while still obeying the law. They also played traditional instruments and the talking drum.

We loved the performance. The band had a lot of different instruments that had various timbres. For example, the shakers and the cowbells had a high pitch, whereas the big steel pans had a very low pitch. The bamboo instruments were cut into different lengths to make different sounds. We also liked the many different rhythms. For example, the bass instruments played simple rhythms while the smaller instruments played complex, hard patterns. The steel band was one of the best performances we’ve seen all year.

If you have a chance to see the UK Steel Band, you should really take it. They were very entertaining, and we learned a lot of cool history about that region. We give this performance five paws.