What Makes a Good Drumline?

My opinions about what makes a drumline good are as follows -

* stick heights should be consistent at various dynamic levels. For example, Grace notes are 2 inches, taps 5 and accents 9 inches.

* interpretation of space - for example, the space after a tap before a roll. At Rockland Defenders and 27th Lancers we had the "east coast" style which was to almost run the first diddle into the accent. The first diddle was more open than the rest. When I marched, the Bayonne Bridgemen did this too - kind of a loose interpretation. But, the Santa Clara Vanguard drumline was really tight and mathematical - listen to the rolls in their 1983 drum solo - there's a gap between the tap and the rolls.

* grip - how everyone holds their sticks. This should be as close as possible. The grips will change a little depending on the dynamic level. Pp is going to be held tighter and more controlled than over-the-shoulder-ffffffff rimshots.

* style - linked to grip, there's various styles of playing, from more forearm and elbow to less, high to low, whether you play "into" the head or above it. Basically, this should be consistent across the line if you want a consistent sound.

* aggression or confidence level - I'd say that if half the line is inexperienced, nervous or timid, it will sound that way. Takes time to develop this, and you know when a line has it.

* look - the look of everyone should be consistent. Sounds strange, but if the line doesn't have it you can tell in a heartbeat. This probably comes from posture, attitude, where people are looking, body position, and various other things like head bobbing.

And probably other stuff! Anyway, there's some food for thought.

--Rick Cogley