Jumbie Jam table top steel pan kit

Introducing the Jumbie Jam steel pan with tabletop stand

The Jumbie Jam is by far the best quality and most authentic sounding beginners' steel pan on the market. It's the perfect gift to encourage classes of young children to make music together and explore the sounds of the Caribbean. It has also become popular with older and more advanced musicians looking to add a tropical twist to their lives.

It's named after the Jumbie, a mischievous spirit in Trinidadian folklore, and its fun feet and bright colours are sure to awaken every player's impish creativity.

Build Quality

The origins of steel pan building are that these instruments are hand hammered from oil drums in Trinidad and Tobago. This highly time-consuming process added to the distance the pans will travel to reach their customers result in high production costs. The Jumbie Jam is proudly produced in the USA where it is machine pressed from a single sheet of premium steel. This process applies the overall shape of the notes on the pan surface, which are then fine tuned by hand hammering before the electrostatic powder coat paint finish is applied.

Range

The surface of the pan holds a G major scale over one octave from G4 to G5. Non-specialist teachers can quickly pick up the basics and stay a few tricks ahead of their class, and students will not be intimidated or overwhelmed by the note range available. This ensures a fun, effective and immediate learning experience.

Versatility

Jumbie Jam offers a perfect mix of simple design and layout, durability and ease of learning. This makes it the ideal introduction to steel pan playing for all ages and musical abilities. This joyful instrument is at home in a range of environments – from recreational music making at home to educational settings in the classroom and ensemble playing.

Learning support

The Jumbie Jam Beginner’s Guide and jam tracks is a great place to start! Featuring some basic steel drum care information and a selection of pieces to learn with accompanying audio tracks for a rewarding playing experience. A range of song books is also available, with themes including Island Fun, Reggae, Christmas and Songs of Faith amongst others. These titles all include backing CDs, and the notation is provided with both standard stave notation and letter names to match the letters marked on the Jumbie Jam itself. For players who do not yet read music, there is also the “Songs By Letter” series which solely consists of letter names.

Stands

Jumbie Jam is supplied in either tabletop or free-standing formats, with a corresponding plastic stand. The tabletop stand is a fixed height, very popular in classroom use and especially for SEN students. The free-standing version can be built as required to heights between 53cm and 116cm due to its modular nature and is supplied with a “Fun Feet” base.

Also available to purchase is the powder coated metal Z-stand which is fully height adjustable between 60cm and 90cm.

Accessories

The Jumbie Jam is supplied with a pair of mallets, which are rubber tipped at both ends to protect the pan itself from the shaft of the mallet. This does also offer unique opportunities for experimental playing techniques! Tenor/lead steel pan mallets can also be used to play Jumbie Jam, these are typically slightly longer than the mallets supplied with the set.

Also available to purchase is the Tom & Will Jumbie Jam gig bag. This clever storage and transport solution provides separate sections for the pan, stand and accessories and can be carried either by hand or backpack style.