Gigging Pan Player’s Handbook Chapter 1 – What Is the Gigging Pan Player’s Handbook?

Greetings Friends, Welcome to the Gigging Pan Player’s Handbook first & for real official explanation and blog that answers the question: What is the Gigging Pan Player’s Handbook?

The long answer to that question is yet to come, in a series of blog posts that break down numerous lessons and preparation techniques to successfully book work as a steel drum performing artist. 

The short answer to that question is still kind of long, but we’ll attempt to explain the purpose of this blog series here at panassociation.com. 

This series is going to do a little bit of everything, from stating the obvious about the basics of what it takes to play a gig on steel pan, to breaking down the musical knowledge that would make you best prepared, all the way to booking strategies and what kind of recording equipment to get. It all depends on what your goal is, if not to make a bit of money and have fun playing pan while you do it.

The Instrument

Don’t be surprised to hear that we will be recommending you find access to an instrument. If you have an agreement with someone who owns a pan and you’ve worked something out, then great. But, if you’re looking to buy a drum, (or rent one from us…) we will offer some tips of the trade to help get the right instrument for you. A reliable drum that has been tuned well is a must-have for aspiring professional pan players.

The Music

Just as important as having a drum to play is having music to play on the drum. This subject is pretty vast and will go from the very basics of music theory, to song lists, sight reading tips, improvisation on pan, and so many more subjects. Playing a panorama piece in a steel band is an amazing experience, but it can be different from playing pan at a local gig. This will focus on how to blend into a music group in practical ways to allow you to play with other musicians in your community. 

The Business

Gigs come in all shapes and sizes, and we will dive into the nature of booking gigs, advertising your music, running a small pan business and producing audio & video for your press kit. It is the 21st century and musicians can create a lot of opportunities by having good audio & video online, along with proper social media techniques. Any musician or band that is looking to book gigs must somehow be found by people, and we will offer our thoughts on how this is done effectively. 

The Rest

The rest of it is up to you, and we will offer up our pan philosophies to help you find out the answers to the questions that you have about this. There are many sides of this subject as far as how to approach playing pan for the public. If you’re in the U.S. like I am, this instrument is viewed as a bit of a novelty and the most musical repertoire recognition you’re going to find would come from the likes of Jimmy Buffet, Harry Belafonte, and Disney’s “The Little Mermaid.” Pan purists like me sometimes turn their nose at such repertoire, and attempt to play as much music by artists like Boogsie, Ray Holman, Leon “Foster” Thomas and other pan greats as possible (while accepting that the general public probably won’t know their music). This blog series will dig into how the public perceives pan music, and what priority public enjoyment can/should take in your efforts to play gigs on pan. 

Comment in this blog with your questions about how to play gigs on pan!