The national instrument of Trinidad and Tobago, and in theory at least the only musical instrument invented in the Western Hemisphere, is the Steel Pan.
Experimenting here to see if I can embed a song in this blog. Assuming this works, check to see how long it takes you to recognize this song:
Song 1
I first encountered actual steel pans on a previous visit to Trinidad which was during the Christmas season. Nothing says Christmas quite like Silent Night as performed Calypso style by a steel pan band.
But without a doubt, the most bizarre demonstration of the drum I've yet encountered was a performance of the Sound of Music with an all black cast accompanied by a steel pan orchestra. I'm still searching for clips from that performance to include in this blog.
