So next year I am going to be co-captain/ section leader for our percussion ensemble/ drumline. Our school has an amazing music program, but pep band and drumline is one of those things that no one care about. They never practice for it or learn music or proper forms or anything. Neither me or the other captain are drummers. We do more orchestral mallet stuff. Any help on what we could do to actually make our drum line good? We want to actually be able to compete against other schools!

Master the basics. And master them well. Don't just try to play hard stuff or any stuff right off the bat, until your drumline can play the basics successfully. I suggest getting Bill Bachman's instructional books Rudimental logic , Quad logic, and bass logic. Also check out his two DVD's Reefed Beats and Rudimental Beats. spend time learning technique and getting down basic exercises such as eight on a hand and accent tap. It will really make your line stronger and be able to play more music correctly. I'd rather hear a drumline play easy music really clean than a drumline play stuff that's too hard for them dirty. Also try to get everyone to get along with each other. Maybe schedule some percussion parties on the weekends were you guys can just hang out and be cool with each other.

To be a great drumline, you have to establish a culture that values attention to detail. Uniformity in how and when you get to set position and playing position is a great starting point. Then strive for uniformity of technique as you play. Watching DCI drumlines was a good inspiration for me as a young musician to appreciate the value of uniformity and attention to detail. That's what made those drumlines great, and I really wanted to perform like that.

Quite often, it's the young players that are easiest to convince of this. They don't enough to question your methods or philosophy. It's the upper classmen who have grown accustomed to carelessness that are tough to reach. That's why it may take a lot of time and patience to make the transition.