Culture of the Drum Line

After the first performance, the marching band had two weeks to rehearse new music for our upcoming homecoming show. This gave me time to fine tune my systems and workaround's. I also used the time to explore the culture of my university's drum line, verbally, mentally and physically.  

I mentioned in a previous blog post that I faced a lot of opposition, resistance and unnecessary competition from fellow drummers in high school. I asked myself "was playing on a college drum line going to be like high school all over again?" How would the other drummers view me? (a guy who just happens to be visually impaired) I thought of the 2002 film Drum Line and the fierce  competition between drummers and drum lines. I know Hollywood has a way of blowing things way out of proportion but I had to learn how I would fit into this new group of people. Granted, I don't go to Texas A and M and I don't play on their drum line, so I had that going for me. 

I decided to take a natural approach; just being myself. Between this mentality and the friendly nature of myself and my guide dog I found that the members of the drum line were quite accepting. I think it took people a few days to realize that the "guy with the cool dog," was joining up and playing on the line. Many of the other drummers respected me as a person and had no problem saying things like " welcome aboard," or "glad you are part of the line."  Naturally we are all competitive at some level and I'm sure if I had challenged the section leader to a drum-off  I would be writing this post from a much different perspective. 

I found myself challenged by the music and the required parts. (this is a good thing) I count measures to keep track of where I am in the musical piece. I also memorize my part based on the sound of the music and the knowledge of the composition.  Here's a snapshot of what it's like to learn a new song or cadence: 

My newly made crash cymbal partner  and I team up and learn the music together. They read the sheet music to me as we practice it in sections. "count to measure 12; crash on measure 12 beat 1; crash on measure 14 beat 1; crash on measure 16 beat 2; measures 23-29 crash on beats 2 and 4; at measure 30 crash on the and of beat 3."  Just so you know, this is the first section of crash cymbal music for Elton John's Funeral for a Friend. Now, do I memorize to this detail on every song all of the time? No, because if I did my head would explode! I do, however pay attention to how the other drums as well as the horn section sound while practicing. At first I count and memorize and then I combine that knowledge with what the music sounds like. Then,   I am effectively able to play my part. Add in all of the auditory cues that I employ to help me get around while marching in the band and you've got a pretty good description of the mental stamina it takes to play in a marching band non visually. 

It is fact, it takes a good deal  of physical strength to play any instrument in a marching band. You must be able to play your chosen instrument for long periods of time, while standing or marching and in all weather. Yes, even in the poring down rain. After playing the crash cymbals for half a day at the first football game I realized that I was a bit out of shape (musically speaking). My arms and shoulders were stretched and muscles in my fingers that I didn't even know I had were sore. I play a set of 18-inch Sabian AAX cymbals. Each weighs roughly 6-8 pounds. It doesn't sound like much, but consider this: 

OUr fight song requires the cymbal player to crash on roughly 95 percent of the beats. I'm guessing our fight song is about 20 measures long, which we play twice with a short drum cadence in the middle. and it's played at roughly 170 beats per minute (pretty fast)  If we do the math 95 percent of 20 = 19 measures, times 4 beats per measure = 76 beats, but wait, we play it twice so actually a cymbal player crashes the cymbals  152 times, just for the fight song.  

My point here is it takes a lot of physical strength to get through a day of marching. Still, I wouldn't have it any other way. 

To sum up the culture of the drum line: 

We are a group of hard working, strong , passionate musicians who just like to play music, and as long as everybody works hard to play their part that is all the group asks.