The earliest steel drums were first made from hammered 50-gallon oil drums by slaves and used as a method of communication until the British colonial government outlawed them in 1883. They are also referred to as pans and now made from sheet metal.

Steel drums are considered a pitched percussion instrument and there are 13 instruments in the pan family, from soprano, down to bass octaves. The musicians who play the pans are called pannists.

Steel drums have gained global popularity because of their unique look and sounds that conjure up images of palm trees and beach life. But these pans were first invented as a cultural response to slaving conditions on the island on Trinidad and Tobago.