The Bible

The Percussionist Bible: Web Edition The Bible

Drumline might seem like all fun and games, but we actually have rules we have to follow. For insight, we look to the bible, of course! This was actually my inspiration for this sight. The Percussionist Bible is a real book with the rules all drummers have to follow, how to play each instrument, the basics on how to play. Here's some wisdom from this VERY important book:

Tenors are the 4-6 drums put together, but in our line, we have quints, or 5 drums. The drums are all different sizes and are numbered by pitch. 4 is the biggest, 1 is the second smallest, and the 5th is an accent drum.
We play matched grip on tenors , the basic grip for drummers. Mallets are usually used for playing, but sticks can be sometimes. You can do pretty much anything on tenors- accents, taps, rim shots. I personally think that tenors are the coolest part of the line. They sound awesome and look really, really cool.

Snare is the traditional singular drum used in both marching and concert bands. When you play snare, your sticking can either be traditional or matching. Our snare drummers play trad, which looks really cool even though it's harder. You use the typical marching drum stick while playing. They're a little bit bigger and heavier than regular sticks.
There's usually a lead snare who does taps solely while the band marches on the field, and ours is the amazing Andrew Villa! This lead snare is really important, because if they don't stay in time, the whole band is off.

Drumlines can have lots of bass drums, up to eight, but we only have four. Just like the tenors, bass 4 is the biggest with the lowest pitch, while bass 1 is smallest as well as hightest. I played bass 1 this season.
Because the bass is strapped in front of you, we can't use matched or traditional grip to play. We put our arms straight out in front of us then turn our wrists like you would turn a doorknob. We also have different sized mallets that we use for hitting the drum heads.

Cymbals may seem like the easiest instrument in the band, but playing them actually takes a lot of technique. You hold the cymbals by a leather handle that is wrapped between your pinky and thumb. Most people have to wear gloves to hold cymbals, because the strap digs into your skin.
After crashes, sometimes you let the cymbal ring but other times you choke the sound. Choking can be VERY painful. You pull the edge of the cymbals, one on each side, in between your arms and stomach.

The pit is made up of the percussionists that didn't exactly nail tryouts and are stuck playing bells, xylophone, triangle, or any other instrument not used in marching.
Pit usually stays on the sidelines or right in front of the band. Keyboard, such as bells/xylophone/vibraphone is a huge part of pit. It's like a piano, but the keys are metal and you hit them with a mallet. Mallets are held at match grip, but you can hold more than one mallet in each hand at a time.

To learn more tips and techniques for being a percussionist, go to drumlinetips.com