Marching Percussion
About Marching Percussion
A marching band is a group of instrumental musicians who perform together for entertainment special events and competition purposes - this includes special events such as football games and traditional military parade performances. Marching percussion ensembles - also known as drumlines or batteries - are classified by function age size and by the type of show they're performing but they all use instruments that are designed specifically to be played while moving. This is why marching bass drums tenors snares and cymbals usually come with specially-designed carriers and harnesses that are attached to the instrument and worn by the player.
The marching snare drum is essential to any battery; it has a high-tension head and is deeper in size compared to other snare drums to deliver a big full sound. The marching bass drum is another important drum and produces the deepest sound in the drumline; they come in a variety of sizes each of which are played in a line by several percussionists. Marching tenor drums are sometimes called "toms" and usually come in mounted sets of 4-6 drums. Often tenor drum sets are referred to by how many drums make up their configuration: "duos" (2 drums) "trios" (3 drums) "quads" (4 drums) "quints" (5 drums) and "sextets" (6 drums). Two popular marching snare bass drum and tenor drum manufacturers are Sound Percussion and Pearl and Evans is often the go-to name for marching drum heads.
Marching cymbals (like tenor drums) are used to add color to the music. Marching cymbals have straps so they can be played with the hands; each percussionist carries two identical cymbals which are crashed struck or rubbed together to produce an effect. A wide range of marching cymbals are available in our collection and Zildjian's line of marching cymbals is highly regarded among today's most competitive marching bands. Marching percussionists also need to give careful consideration to their drum sticks and mallets. Snare drum sticks and mallets need to be balanced comfortable to hold and crafted with durable wood like hickory. Vic Firth's Corpsmaster Series sticks are field tested and their mallets come in a choice of super hard felt heads or with soft felt fleece-covered cores.