preview

Analysis Of The Youtube Video 'Under The Sea'

Good Essays

Have you ever watched the little mermaid? Think of the song “Under the Sea”. Now think about what instruments could create that catchy tune. One unique type of drum is able to construct such a joyful, Caribbean sound that makes people want to get up and dance. When looking at a steel drum you may be surprised by the sound it produces. Who knew something that looks so simple could be so complex. The music of the steel drum can be described by its geography, culture, history, musical analysis, and my personal experience with it. The Geography of an area completely shapes a culture. The landscape, region, and resources determine how people live and thrive in that area. The island of Trinidad and Tobago are located in the Caribbean, just off …show more content…

The drum can be played in many different settings, so in those different settings it is able to have different textures. The drummer playing on the side of a rode would have a monophonic texture, but in large bands, the music could have a polyphonic texture. Because so many different notes can be made to play on these drums, they can play on many different scales. The music these drums play tends to be metric and give off a sound unique to the Caribbean. After watching the YouTube video “Under the Sea (Little Mermaid)” posted by Steel Drum Music, I can see how the drum can play the tune perfectly by itself. Just because of that I can really see how many different sounds this drum can make. By watching this video and others like it, I have started to notice that when the drum is being played by itself or there is only one steel drummer in a band, they tend to have two drums set up next to each other and play one drum with each hand. The next YouTube video I watched called, London National Panorama Steel Band Competition 2014 – Metronomes Steel Orchestra posted by Steel Pan Trust, shows a very large band of almost only steel drummers. This is what I imagine the streel drum bands at Carnival to be like in Trinidad and Tobago. All of the performers are dancing and really having fun while playing. Some students are playing two drums at once, but most are just playing one. They most likely have this whole performance planned out rather than playing by improvisation, or call and response. My favorite example of the steel drum comes from a very modern song, that I happened to be listening to one day and noticed that it featured a steel drum. It is called “Pick Up the Phone” by Travis Scott. They most likely used a steel drum synthesizer, but I still found it really cool that the steel drum sounds are played in modern day rap songs. This is a lot different than the steel drum music that

Get Access