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What is a Drumline?

A drumline is a group of percussionists who play a variety of percussion instruments. A drumline may be an incorporated section of a marching band, and can also exist independently. Indoor percussion ensembles serve as the most common outlet for stand-alone drumline performance. Most drumlines can be divided into two sections: the battery and the front ensemble. However, the term “drumline” is frequently used to refer to just the battery. Within the battery are sub-sections such as snare drums, tenors, bass drums, and cymbals.

The marching percussion instruments of a battery section features high tension drumheads to produce a loud, short, and articulate sound, ideal for the intricate passages played by contemporary drumlines. Marching snares are either 13 or 14 inches in diameter, depending on whether the line is playing indoors or outdoors.

Tenor drums (also known as "quads", "quints", or "six-packs") are sets of multiple drums worn by one marcher, usually in sets of 3 to 6 drums. Plastic and synthetic heads are most common in tenors and are tuned with a lower tension than snares, providing the drums with a more resonant, tonal sound which gives the drums a mid-range pitch support to the line.

Marching basses consist of groupings of 4-6 individually carried bass drums. They are marched sequentially according size, with drum 1 being the smallest in diameter and weight. Drums 4, 5, or 6, known as "bottom bass", are the largest and heaviest.

Marching cymbals are generally marched in groups of 2-8, though the range is simply by convention. Cymbals are held by each member of the sub-section and are either played by the individual holder, by a snare or tenor player, or used for visual purposes because of their reflective surfaces.

The front ensemble, also known as a “pit” or “frontline”, can include any percussion instrument. This wide selection of instruments allows for the front ensemble to produce the greatest variety of timbre in a marching ensemble. Front ensemble instruments are typically stationary during performance, and are therefore not bound to the limitations of being mounted to the player. Instruments usually played in the front ensemble include timpani, drum set, marimba, vibraphone, bells, xylophone, and chimes. In order to add special sounds to a piece, many auxiliary percussion instruments may also be implemented by the frontline ensemble.

What is the proper instrumentation for a drumline?

An ideal drumline will include 15 – 35 musicians. The ratio of musicians for a drumline is:

For example, a 15-musician drumline consists of 6 snare drums, 3 quads, 3 bass drums and 3 cymbals. A 25-musician drumline has 10 snare drums, 5 quads, 5 bass drums and 5 cymbals.

Click here to download a PDF containing a detailed description of a typical drumline by Michael Beauclerc.

Click here to download "Building a Smarter Drumline" by Gene Fambrough (PDF).