Tahoma Times
Walk the line, the drum line.Wednesday, September 09, 2009 By Michael Marczewski
Everybody hears the drum line at the Football games, but not many people know what goes on behind the scenes. The long road of skill, late nights, and dedication is a thin one, where many cannot proceed on the path to the line. The drum line is a select group of percussionist that have risen above the rest and shown what they can do. Drum line has many sophomores this year due to the lack of seniors and juniors. Matt Whatcott stated clearly that "We could use a lot of work, most of the drummers are sophomores this year. Unless we practice hard, we will never be good". Recently, we had the privilege of having David Kerney, a former drum line leader, help in teaching the sophomores with the music. David said it was a good looking group but there are "too many sophomores who do not know the music, too many seniors left and did not pass the music. Many of the cadences got lost". All the music that the drum line plays is passed down through the grades and it is not translated to a piece of paper. When a large number of seniors leave without teaching the lower grades, the music is lost and someone will have to come back and teach the next grade. Even though the seniors are hesitant about the drum line this year, the sophomores are very excited to step up. Sophomore Brandon said he is excited "mostly (for) the football games and playing with people who are good". This year will be unsettling for some and a great building experience for others. The drum line will live on throughout the years, and all will have the privilege to hear the thunder of drums at the Football games. |