Marching percussion

march but that meant I’d have to haul my keyboard up to the school. I would not be exaggerating if it was a half mile hike with an instrument bigger than a desk. It was a struggle but I willingly joined because if I was not hauling up a synth to the band room, who would? My boyfriend Will thrust the registration form in my hand the day he received an extra copy. My brain rushed through all the possibilities in marching band. The experience had a euphoric essence in my mind when I envied over my new friends. But I had two concerns: The first being that I’m not a very skilled or experienced musician, and my other concern was the cost and time commitment. Will assured me on my first concern that I didn’t have to be. However, he wasn’t the wise one to give me advice because he had played piano for…

orishas during the ceremony. These three drums are Iya (mother), dedicated to the Orisha Yemaya, Itotele (father) dedicated to Oshun, and Okonkolo (baby) dedicated to the orisha Chango. Iya is the largest drum, followed by Itotele and finally Okonkolo is the smallest. Each of these drums are made sacred by going through a specific consecration ceremony which may only be attended by males who have had their hands wash to play the drums as well as the Babalawo (male priests of Ifá). Although one…

jazz band. I had tried out on mallets for Junior Districts in 7th grade. That audition was both a failure and a lesson to practice more before auditioning for Junior Districts, because qualifying on percussion isn’t as easy as I thought.…

The development of percussion throughout centuries has been a long evolution of varied instruments that have greatly affected the way people hear and understand music. Since time began, humans have used percussion instruments to accompany their music, dances, and rituals. In the West, percussion in the orchestra gradually evolved and grew over time into a powerful section of the group, with an imposing range of tools and roles at its disposal (Gagné). In recent times, non-Western percussion has…

It is hard to picture the Beatles without Ringo or Led Zeppelin without Bonham. These drummers many not be front and center, but they are the back bone to the band. And without the Drum set these drummers would have never been. Jazz or Rock n Roll or Pop music wouldn’t be the same without the invention and evolution of the drum set. The drum set took over a century to become what it is today. The drum set is an American instrument and through its development it has reflected the way America has…

Furthermore, instrumentation allows for the musical composition to produce a melody by arranging the piece in a certain way with each individual instrument in mind; this includes: brass, woodwinds, and percussion instruments, or instruments that are used while walking. Essentially, the instruments are individually selected and placed in different combinations for performances. Because marching bands are working with several different types of instruments, instrumentation is an important…

play every single instrument that I heard. I begged my mom to let me take piano lessons, and in the third grade, I started lessons with my first of three teachers. In fourth grade, I also started learning cornet through my church’s beginner band. I played trumpet and piano in middle and high school wind ensemble and jazz band, and in tenth grade I decided to join winter drumline just because it looked fun. I played center marimba my first year, which is normally reserved for more experienced…

The Harrisburg Marching Tigers, in their third year of competitive marching, went in strong with the theme of “Rock, Paper, Scissors”. Starting in July of 2016, the marching band rehearsed eight hours a day for eight days. During rehearsal hours, the band learned and memorized specially composed music written by Tim Stockman and Matt Shervey, along with drill and visuals. When asked what the strongest parts of the marching band are, Jason Groon, the High School band director, says, “I think the…

Drum Corps is my passion, something that I love to do, and it has changed my life. Drum corps is a less known sport/art, that has evolved and grown in the past 44 years. It has affected me differently depending on when it was. My views on some things changed since I was actively there, but I would not want to lose that time for anything. Drum corps is an activity that I feel very strongly about, as well as the group of people that form the community, joining and doing it has been one of the best…

Being in percussion, during football/marching season, you’re either in Drumline or Pit. Drumline is the section of percussion that marches while Pit is the section that does not. I, as an eighth grader, tried out for Drumline, and was already planning the year ahead expecting fantastic memories. However, I was not fully aware of my skills, or lack of. I was not granted a spot on Drumline and was placed in Pit. After this, I decided to stay in Pit for another year because I believed that my…