Science of steelpans: What is known and what is not
Thomas D. Rossing, Uwe J. Hansen · The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America · 2001
One of the most important musical instruments developed in the 20th century is the Caribbean steelpan. In addition to being the foremost musical instrument in its home country of Trinidad and Tobago, the steelpan is becoming increasingly popular in North America and Europe. Scientific studies on the instrument have not kept pace with its growing popularity, however. This paper reviews some of the scientific studies that have been made on steelpans in our laboratory and elsewhere. One of the most important steps in understanding the steelpan is to understand how it vibrates and produces sound. We report measurements of modal shapes in different steelpans by prominent makers and attempt to interpret these results in terms of the geometry and fabrication history of these pans. We also discuss the physics of the material, including the residual stresses, the surface hardness, and the effect of heating.