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Bertram Marshall was born in February 1936 and grew up in
Laventille, Trinidad. As a boy, he watched pioneering tuners at
work and came into contact with Winston “Spree” Simon who
created the multiple notes on the convex metal containers used
for making pans. These encounters sparked his interest in the
steelpan and began his secret association with pan and panmen.
He began playing openly only when his mother died in 1954, but
had tuned his first pan long before.
Marshall quickly rose to the pinnacle of the art form and
excelled in all its areas. He was the main tuner for the
celebrated Desparadoes Steel Orchestra. He played in several
bands in the mid-1950s then formed his own band. Dissatisfied
with the range of lead (tenor) pans, he began experimentation to
get the best sound from the instruments as components of a
steelband.
In order to get high notes that were missing, he created the
high tenor and then the double-tenor to accommodate lower notes.
The most popular instrument in the steelband ensemble, the
double tenor has a mellower sound and a musical range that makes
it ideal for solo artistes. He also experimented with low pitch
pans that made the difference in the total pan sonority.
Marshall introduced the first amplified pans on the road for
Carnival in the mid-1960s. It was such a difficult feat that no
other band has tried it since. His attempts at improving the
technique led to the invention of the “Bertphone” in 1971, which
combined tonal control and amplification using mixers and
equalizers. Unfortunately it was lost in a fire at his home in
1980.
He contributed to the first scientific study of the steelpan at
the Caribbean Industrial Research Institute in the mid-1970s.
Unfortunately, the project was terminated before many of his
ideas and innovations could materialize.
Bertie Marshall is considered a rare genius because of his
inventions and a master tuner of high quality instruments.
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