Old Mill Band Learns from World Renowned Musician

Watching jazz musician and living legend Andy Narell manipulate a steel drum is like watching a surgeon perform a delicate operation with tiny instruments.With steady eyes and painstaking precision, Narell gently guided his small mallets over the concaved silver bowls to the awe of his audience.

For the last four days Narell, a world famous performer for his masterful work playing what is more commonly known as the steel pan, has been teaching his own music to several members of the Old Mill High School steel band.

“It’s been incredible and terrifying because you have so much talent sitting in the room in front of you,” said Old Mill senior Justin Miller. “You’re just so afraid you’re going to mess up.”

But according to Miller, Narell taught them with respect, positive reinforcement and encouraged them to feel the music instead of just reading the notes on the page.

“Have conviction-play it strong,” said Narell during their final rehearsal on Thursday night before a performance for the parents of those who attended the workshop.

Narell taught the Patriot musicians two of his songs from his album Tatoom. Old Mill band director Mike Miller selected Appreciation (an epic 13 minute piece, one that is extremely difficult to learn) and Tabanca (a personal favorite of Miller’s) that in his opinion, is much easier for a high school student to master.

On the final day of the workshop, Narell got right to work going over his complex 78-page score of Appreciation with the young musicians, a song about how the people of Trinidad (the country where the steel pan originated in the 1930’s) needed to show appreciation for their own people and heros.

Miller first met Narell in the late 1990’s while learning to play steel drum at the Ellie Mannette steel drum camp in Morgantown, WV, where Narell was a guest musician.

Miller also met Billy Sheeder at the camp, who now tunes the drums for Miller’s students, a skill very few in the world have learned and mastered.

Narell has travelled around the world playing and making music with the likes of Aretha Franklin, Nancy Wilson (Heart), and Tito Puente and has worked on movie scores and produced compositions for television shows like "Designing Women." Narell still makes music, but it is teaching others that mostly pays the bills.

“I’ve been teaching almost as long as I’ve been playing,” said Narell. “I started playing when I was seven years old and by the time I was nine years old I started teaching the other kids how to play. I teach how to get a good performance out of understanding the music. I get a big kick out of it and I make a living doing something I love to do.”

Miller spoke of his admiration of Narell to his students, and Logan Miller (no relation to Mike Miller) took it upon himself to reach out to Narell via Facebook, of all things, to let him know his teacher was a big fan.

The band leader was surprised to receive an email shortly after Logan’s Facebook message that he would be in the United States spreading his music on a teaching tour. The two spoke and it was decided that Narell would add Old Mill to his tour.

Miller started the steel drum program at Old Mill in 2000, which is proud to be the largest in the state and is estimated to be one of only 10-to-15 of its kind in Maryland.

“Outside of Trinidad, the steel drum is not very big,” said Miller. “Our program is unique because students can earn credit during the day to learn the steel drum as opposed to an after-school program.”

This week, hosting Narell and learning his music has been a 10-year culmination and celebration of the program.

As legend has it, Spree Simon picked up a trash can and started banging on it non-stop during a street festival. Because of riots and civil unrest at the time, certain street instruments were banned in Trinidad, leading to music by necessity.

To play on something, Simon banged that trash can for hours upon end until it led to a dent in the can. That dent led to a note. He started banging in another spot and that became another note, and the steel pan was born.

The Old Mill steel band plays about 20 events per year to raise money for workshops, to purchase new steel pans from Trinidad and for tuning and maintenance on their existing equipment by the likes of Sheeder.

A single pan may cost close to $700 and a good set of three may run around $2,000.

As the students wrapped up their final practice session with Narell, he addressed the group and gave some final words about the complexities of planning the steel pan. All were transfixed onto his words of wisdom.

But the night was about playing what they had learned first-hand from the man who composed the music they had been learning from Miller since January.

“We could play the song but he helped us feel the song,” said Justin Miller. “After three days it was like, man we sound like a real steel band.”

As they began with "Tabanca," that island melody of the steel drums echoed throughout the music room, the musicians swayed their hips, shoulders, head and neck. Their faces showed focused concentration but the music did allow for smiles to curl on lips, some more so than others as certain students needed to be more concentrated in their efforts.

Narell kept rhythm to his own song with a cow bell as a student drummer played in the middle of the room alongside bongo players.

There was real beauty in which the band worked together to harmonize, as the unit swayed together without effort. Even the parents were bobbing their heads, smiling and toe tapping.

But when the students began to play "Appreciation," a song with piercing highs balanced perfectly with deep base centered around a rocking percussion groove, the layers of the song peeled away like a flower seeking sunlight and the musician’s hard work with Narell seemed to have culminated into a fantastic effort.

“You guys sound like a completely different band than you did on Monday night,” said Narell. “I am really proud of how well you have improved collectively and individually. You guys are close.”