This year, our school drumline has sweaters on it we had the option of whether or not to put what we played, and i chose to not put cymabls on it.

Im not ASHAMED, Im simply just not proud of it. imo its not much effort. sure its my first year on drumline so its clear why i was put on the cymbal line, next year i'll most likely be on the snare line (everyone on the drumline is assuming i'll make it)

... re-phrase the first part of your post, because I didn't understand it.

FONT- his drumline got sweaters and they had an option of putting their instrument on their sweater and he chose not to put cymbals on his sweatshirt because he isn't proud of playing cymbals

Thanks, dude. I was also really tired when I read that, 'cuz I had woken up fifteen minutes before (yes, I'm an all-nighter kind'a guy).

Well, Rage, I'm sorry you chose to do that. But, it's understandable. Most High School cymbal lines are horrible. they don't take their instrument seriously. but that's you and your sections fault. You can make playing cymbals cooler. go to youtube.com and search for cymbal videos. There's a bunch of insanely good DCI/WGI cymbal lines.

Paradox Percussion (where I marched in 2006) had a pretty good plateline. (search "PDX Cymbals")

The Magic Drum & Bugle Corps in 2005 had an INSANE cymbal line, taught by one of the Guru's of cymbalogy, Eddie Capps (search "Magic cymbals")

Santa Clara Vanguard . . . we all know they have an amazing cymbal line. their 2001 line was my favorite, next to 2006.

Pioneer has a good plateline, also.

also check out Music City Mystique for an amazing indoor cymbal line. namely, 2006.

www.cymbaltechnique101.com

You Should also get some video and see what its like to really play them. I think vic firth has a video of just the cymbal line playing.

Being ashamed or "unproud" of the instrument you play is really a hampering force against you, your section, and your band.

If you approach your cymbals with the attitude "I only got this because I'm a freshmen." You will most likely play at a grade 'C' level. You follow directions and do what you're told, but you could be playing at an 'A' level and really apply yourself.

Cymbals have a vast set of achievable timbres as well as the most visual opprotunities of any other instrument on the drum line. IF you apply yourself you can help push your line, have a MUCH better time of playing, and at the very least show a very positive attitude to your instructor who will take that attitude into consideration when choosing who makes the snare line next season.

And to some instructors/Band Directors, attitude can mean MUCH more than chops or skill.

I played the cymbals last year and I wasn't too proud of them. However when we started going to competitions we got awards like 'Best Cymbal Line' and stuff like that, and on all or judge's review tapes they always said stuff like, "good job cymbals. I love the visuals," (In fact one judge, which was very creepy, said we were hot....it was odd.....) and things like that which made me feel proud. I guess just do your best and get awards and it'll make you feel proud =]

This goes for anything you do in life: If you choose to have a negative outlook on something, you probably will have a negative outlook on it.

I came from a less than average HS program. When I came to college and auditioned for the drumline, I know that going out for cymbals would be my best bet. I was supprised to learn how versitile of an instrument they are and just how much technique there actually was to playing them. I still can't get over how much fun I've had playing and learning how to play them.

You should be proud of the instrument you play. Make it fun! Be creative! And don't ever let anyone tell you otherwise.

Everyone pretty much stole what i was gonna post here. I reccommend that you watch Santa Clara's line. The first time i saw them i was like "Holy crap I want to do that." I was actually happy to play cymbals my first year in marching band. My arm muscles became HUMONGUS compared to what they looked like before i marched cymbals. I guess thats another Pro to playing cymbals.

Three things you can learn from playing Cymbals:

1. Good sense of timing. A cymbal line has split parts (or should anyway) which is a good experience and can be applied to other instruments (Bass Drum, Tenors, Snare, Pit).

2. You get to be in a drumline and play music.

3. Great marching technique. Some of the best marchers I know have experience in a cymbal line. They had the hardest moves in the drill, so they learned all the keys to marching well and were able to handle any other instrument with ease when moving.

Just my two cents.