Drum Line
The Marching Blue Devils Drumline is the pulse of the band. They must stay in perfect time and step while every movement is critiqued by the field judges in competition.

Why is the Drumline special?        
The drumline requires students to learn instruments that are not included in the concert band instrumentation such
as tenors, pitched bass drums, and rudimental snare.

The music performed by the drumline is very demanding technically and musically requiring intense training over a long period of time. The drumline has between 10-20 musicians each year.  Students are selected based on an intense 4 week audition process involving as many as 60 students. 

Musicians from the Blue Devil Drumline have gone on to perform in the Glassmen and Cavaliers Drum and Bugle Corps as well as Evolution World Class Indoor Drumline and various division I-A college marching bands.

Do drumline members have rehearsals in addition to the full-band Wednesday night practices?     

The Blue Devil Drumline members have an additional one hour sectional during the marching season to be coordinated by the section leaders. In addition, the group has 3-4 additional rehearsals during the summer.

The drumline is judged as part of the percussion section with the front ensemble  during competitions.  What are judges looking for?

 "Playing Clean" is a phrase used often among the members and staff of the Blue Devil Drumline. This is the primary concern of any drumline expert or judge; it describes the ability for the listener to read the intention of the composition by hearing clarity within each voice. 

To translate: each member of each section is playing the same thing at the same time at the same volume. The onlooker may describe this as being "tight" or "together". Then and only then can the observer judge musicality and phrasing. "Does the drumline express different volumes, weaving seamlessly through various dynamics to create a desired emotion or mood?" The goal of the Warren drumline is to play clean while expressing an exciting and musical composition.

---

Drum Line

Tenors

Pitched Basses

Snares