Steel Pan Tablature System and Associated Methods

A device for entering, editing, and outputting representations of a series of notes to be played on a bass pan set of a plurality of steel pans, each pan having three note pads, a first pad of each pan capable of producing a first musical pitch when struck, a second pad of each pan capable of producing a second musical pitch an octave above the first musical pitch when struck, and a third pad of each pan capable of producing a third musical pitch intermediate between the first and the second musical pitch when struck, the device comprising:

• a processor;
• a display in signal communication with the processor;
• an input and an output device in signal communication with the processor;
• and
• software encoded on a computer-readable medium and installable on the processor, the software having code segments adapted to:
• display a representation of a steel pan having a plurality of concentric rings of note pads, each note pad capable of producing a distinct musical pitch when struck;
• receive a user selection via the input device of a series of notes to be played on the steel pan;
• display on the display the user-selected note series with a tablature system comprising:
• a pan staff comprising three horizontal staff lines positioned atop, and in spaced relation from, each other, each staff line for representing a set of note pads in chromatic sequence, a first staff line representing the first pad on each pan, a second staff line positioned adjacent the first staff line representing the second pad on each pan, and a third staff line positioned adjacent the second staff line on an opposite side from the first staff line representing the third pad on each pan;
• for each note pad to be represented, a rhythmic indicator adjacent the staff line in the set of which the note pad belongs;
• and
• for each note pad to be represented, a note name corresponding to the note pad to be represented, the note name positioned adjacent the respective rhythmic indicator;
• output at least a portion of an electronic representation of the user-selected note series to the output device.

A device for entering, editing, and outputting a representation of a series of notes to be played on a steel pan, the device comprising:

• a processor;
• a touch-screen input and display in signal communication with the processor;
• and
• software encoded on a computer-readable medium and installable on the processor, the software having code segments adapted to:
• display a representation of a keyboard containing keys in a range corresponding to a range of a steel pan, the steel pan having a plurality of note pads corresponding to the notes in the series, each note pad capable of producing a distinct musical pitch when struck;
• receive a user selection via the touch screen of a series of notes to be played on the steel pan;
• and
• display on the display device the user-selected note series with a tablature system comprising:
• a pan staff comprising three horizontal staff lines positioned atop, and in spaced relation from, each other, a first staff line representing a center ring of note pads, a second staff line positioned adjacent the first staff line representing an inner ring of note pads, and a third staff line positioned adjacent the second staff line, on an opposite side from the first staff line, representing an outer ring of note pads;
• for each note pad to be represented, a rhythmic indicator positioned adjacent the staff line commensurate with the note pad to be represented lies;
• and
• for each note pad to be represented, a note name corresponding to the note pad to be represented, the note name positioned adjacent the respective rhythmic indicator.