Things You'll Need:
- Steel pan drum Mallets or sticks
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Step 1
Stand or sit so that the steel pan is at waist level and about five inches from your body. If you are standing, stand with your feet about shoulder distance apart and with your weight evenly distributed on them.
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Step 2
Position your elbows so that they are a little above your waist with your hands over the center of the pan. Keep your wrists and elbows loose.
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Step 3
Hold the sticks between your thumb and first finger, with the rest of your fingers loosely curled around the stick. Hold the stick as close to the end as possible, away from the head.
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Step 4
Using your wrist, drop your hand downwards so that the stick hits the pan and bounces off the pitch area you want to hit. Again, keep your wrists loose. Let the stick bounce; if you prevent it from rebounding, the sound will be dull. This stroke is called the downstroke.
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Step 5
Using your wrist, drop your hand downwards and let the stick drag across the pitch area of the drum and then let it rebound. This is called the flick stroke. Your wrist and hand will move in a circular motion.
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Step 6
Play downstrokes rapidly, alternating between your right and left hand, to play a roll. You can roll on a single note or on two notes at once to create harmony.
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Step 7
Practice playing different strokes on all of the pitches of the drum, and moving from pitch to pitch. Sound out basic songs and practice playing them with varying strokes and rolls until you are comfortable playing all over the drum.
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Step 8
Take lessons or work with a steel pan band to learn even faster and to get used to playing with others.
