3 reasons to add the Jumbie Jam to your elementary or middle school curriculum

If you’re looking for a new instrument to add to your music classes, we recommend our own version of the steel pan — the Jumbie Jam!

Jumbie Jams are Panyard’s portable, lightweight steel pan. They’re made in Ohio, and have the same craftsmanship and quality Panyard’s full size pans have. Learning music on a Jumbie Jam offers a fairly comprehensive music education. Students can learn an unlimited amount of songs, ranging from traditional Caribbean music to modern pop. 

Jumbie Jams are a great way to add some spice to your music lessons. They’re affordable, low maintenance, and very easy to add on to an already existing curriculum. 

1. Jumbie Jams are affordable instruments

Our Jumbies cost just between $269.95-$334.95 each. We also offer four-packs at a discounted rate. You don’t have to get a Jumbie for each student. Rather, Jumbies can be added to an existing curriculum like Orff, or played by specific students as part of a larger band. 

“A school my size (120 graduates a year) can afford any instrument under $2000 on a yearly basis,” said Director of Bands Eric Schrader, Greenville High School. “Most quality brands of instruments, like tenor saxes, bass clarinets, and intermediate horn types cost at least $1500 and more often than not, close to $2000. With the price of a steel drum under $2000, all schools can afford pans and promote this wonderful art form.”  

You can also start small and add more instruments as the number of students who want to play grows. 

2. Jumbie Jams are low maintenance

Jumbies are easy to sanitize, and the mallets are as well. Because there is very little contact between the player and the instrument, it just takes a quick wipe-down to sanitize the instruments. They’re also lightweight, making transporting them to either a concert or to storage a breeze. 

When it comes to setting up a Jumbie, all you have to do is attach the pan to the height adjustable stand. Our instruments come with plastic hooks that slide easily over the stand. Children are capable of setting up the instrument themselves if necessary. 

Jumbie Jams are portable and lightweight. Whether they’re packing up their Jumbies to take to grandma’s, or bringing them to a music lesson, a child of any age can easily bring these back and forth if needed. 

3. Jumbie Jams are easy add-ons to your already existing curriculum

Jumbie Jams are easy for students to learn. The simplicity allows them to play successfully without necessarily developing the skills required for more complicated instruments. Students don’t need to develop breath support, learn how to string tune, or how to hold and use an instrument like a violin.  They are easily converted to Pentatonic, too.  

Students can find the correct pitches by simply looking at the letter names labeled on the Jumbie Jams! Because of that, Jumbies can be added to an already existing curriculum, and even midway through the semester if you want to. 

“In the process of searching for improvements that we can make to our curricular and extracurricular programs here at St. Joseph, we have made many additions and changes,” said educators at St. Joseph Consolidated School in Ohio. “I cannot think of an addition that we have made in recent years that has had a greater impact on our students, parents, and staff than the Jumbie Jam program. It has been an absolute success on all levels. 

“We are in our second year of incorporating these incredible instruments into our music program, and the excitement is still running at a very high level. We started last year with a 4th grade class, with plans to limit the program to that grade level alone each year. After last year’s 4th grade completed their first full year, during which they became more and more proficient and more and more hooked on the experience, we were simply pressured, in a delightfully positive way, to find a way for them to continue playing. They are now in their second year, and we have started a new group of 4th graders. I have no idea where the Jumbie Jammers ―that’s what we call them now― are going to take us, but I am excited that our school has had the opportunity to be a pioneer with these fun and engaging instruments.”

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The Jumbie Jam was selected for a “Best Tools for Schools” award by the National Association of Music Merchants. The panel of diverse music educators identified the Jumbie Jam as a musical instrument that provides innovative solutions and opportunities for music education.