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A Call For an Official PANart Apology in Light of the GUILTY Verdict Rendered by Dr. Anthony Achong

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Dr. Anthony Achong recently rendered a decisive GUILTY verdict against PANart on When Steel Talks (WST), which is the Supreme Court of the Pan world. Dr. Achong, who is a distinguished Pan Scientist, Physicist, Advisor to the Steelpan Tuners Guild of Trinidad & Tobago, and author of the preeminent, steelpan tuning book entitled, ''Secrets of the Steelpan - Unlocking the Secrets of the Science, Technology, Tuning and Operation of the Steelpan'', is a highly credible Supreme Court Justice, if not the Chief Justice where steelpan tuning is concerned. Dr. Achong wrote the steelpan tuning book after all, all 1200 pages of it!  This case...

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Dr. Anthony Achong, Tuner Extraordinaire and Author of ''Secrets of the Steelpan'' Comments on the Pan-Hang Argument

Dr. Anthony Achong Comments on; The ''PanART Hang Documentary: A Propaganda-Filled, Dissemination of Lies'' (Part 1) Posted by Rudy Kendall on July 3, 2016 and Reply posted by Michael Paschko.   I initially intended to email this piece only to Felix Rohner who first drew my attention to the WST blog posted by Rudy Kendall but because of its importance, and because my name was mentioned in one of the blogs that followed, in order to put the records straight and inform the readers, I now betray my oath of not using the Social Media. I don’t know Rudy Kendall. I...

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The Questionably Low YouTube View Counts of Stunning Steelpan Videos

I sometimes come across videos from the Hang Playing Hedge Monkeys and am utterly gobsmacked at the millions of views their YouTube videos seem to consistently garner. When watching the Hang Monkeys play, I cannot help but to think that these monkeys are not doing anything special in pan related, musical terms that would warrant such an absurd amount of attention.  As far as traditional steelpan videos, many of the best and brightest performances ever recorded often spend years on YouTube without even breaking 1000 views. This is truly sad, but getting emotional about it will not help matters. Instead,...

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The Handpan + a Digeridoo = Cultural Appropriation x 2

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The steelpan via the hang/handpan is not the only sacred, cultural institution of an instrument that has been co-opted, colonized and corrupted by Europeans on a wide scale. As I have discussed this particular matter in previous blog posts as it pertains to the handpan, I will add another example which proves my point about the erroneous sense of entitlement that most people of European descent have when it comes to culturally misappropriating the sacred cultural institutions of indigenous cultures globally.  The digeridoo/yidaki comes immediately to mind as an instrument that is intimately connected to the the handpan community at...

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Introducing the 21-note KaribPAN 3-Pan Cello

Our 3-Pan Cello steelpans represent the authentic culture, craftsmanship and class that this modern instrument is recognized for. All of our instruments are 100% handcrafted from the start of the pan making process until the finish, from sinking to tuning.  Shipped with a fresh coat of paint, our 3-Pan Cellos are tuned, and ready to be played. Our cellos are mid-range pans with 21 notes and are typically used to play harmonies and provide support to the melodies in a steel pan orchestra.  The triple cello pan also carries a counter-melody voice and also is used to support lower portions...

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