Trinidad and Tobago is the birth place of the Steel Pan/drum, it is the only acoustic instrument invented and developed in the 20th century. The steel pan first emerged in the late 1930's when the playing of the Tamboo Bamboo was banned by the government during the Second World War. The Tamboo Bamboo is comprised of bamboo stalks cut at different lengths, played by hitting the stalks on the ground in a rhythmic timing.

Trinidadians are a musical people, so with their instrument of choice banned, subsequently, dustbins and other metal containers were beaten with sticks and metal bars, as a form of musical expression. Eventually, due to much abuse, indentations developed at the bottom of the metal containers. It was noticed that different sounds were created due to the dis-figuration in the metal containers. This is the historical birth of the steel drum. The instrument continues to develop as time goes on.