Drumlines

Photo courtesy by Brendan Adkins

Drumlines are a cool thing to watch. They aren't like marching bands, they only use percussive instruments. If you have ever watched the movie drumline, then you will get a better idea as to how this kind of a team works.

There are schools, universities and organizations all across America that include a line of drummers pounding away what they know on their drum.

Depending on where the team comes from, this kind of a band usually consists of having a snare drums, tenor and bass drums and cymbals. When they march together in the field or across a street, that group that is marching is called the "battery." Check out some of America's popular percussive lines.

Popular Percussive Lines

Here are some popular drumlines with helpful information that follows.

Fortunately enough I got in contact with Scott Johnson director of percussion for the Blue devils and got some really interesting valuable information from a questionnaire he filled out.

Name of School:

No school: Blue Devils Drum and Bugle Corps, we are a non-profit organization.

Mascot :

Coach/Leader’s name of the drum line:

Scott Johnson Director of Percussion 1994 to present.

Age of drum line (how long it has been around):

The BD organization has been around for 53 years.

How many instruments in the drum line:

Three: Snare drum, Tenor drums, bass drums.

Name of sponsor:

Pearl, Pro-Mark, Evans, Zildjian, Roland, Meinl, Planet Waves.

Percussion brands mainly used:

Same as above.

Does your drum line compete? If so how many victories have they won in the past 5 years?( Brag!!)

Yes, DCI, Drum Corps International is very competitive.

We average 27 shows a year. I think we only lost around 10 in the last 5 years.

What is the prerequisite for joining this drum line( Ex. Note reading, sight reading, ability to write out drum pieces etc.)?

Writing is not required. You do need to know how to read music, and your Rudimentary vocabulary should be endless.

What main performances does your drum line perform for?

We do a few non-competitive gigs throughout the year, but most of the time we are being judged.

Contact Information the BlueDevils:

www.Bluedevils.org

Email at: scottjohnsondrums.com