Creating Student Involvement Through The Use of Percussion Instruments
A look into how the creation of a percussion methods class and a Winter Drumline helped save a dying High School band program
By Noah Bellamy
I moved to Miami Beach last year to start a new position as Band Director at Miami Beach Senior High School. The school had been without a band director for almost two years prior to my arrival and the music program had suffered a great deal. In a school that once had approximately 140 people in its Marching Band, two successful Wind Ensembles, and a thriving Jazz Ensemble, the band room had turned into a relative ghost town when I arrived. The rebuilding position that I was/am in is one that you may find yourself in now or at some point in your career. Coming from work at Centerville High School, with a program that is known for its nationally recognized Marching Band, Winter Guard, and Winter Drumline, I immediately wanted to create a large and successful program here on Miami Beach. Knowing that I was not going to have many students interested in Marching Band at the time, and that I did not have the numbers to seat a full Wind Ensemble or Orchestra, I decided to go with what my strengths were and I started a Winter Drumline.
The beauty of a Winter Drumline is that anyone can participate. Horn players can play pit instruments or marching percussion and the mallet instruments have proven to be a great way to teach students with no musical experience. The advantage of starting beginners on mallet instruments is that anyone can learn a scale exercise and sound great at it in a matter of hours. If I were to take that same group of students and teach them a wind instrument, it would be quite some time before they would produce a good sound and could technically play anything proficient. It seems as though this generation is ruled by cell phones, mobile web servers, and iPods, and these students need to see fairly instant results or they become discouraged quickly. Getting the kids started on mallet instruments helps them feel like they are part of an ensemble and gives them the opportunity to sound good on an instrument quickly. Last year we had 16 students participate in the Winter Drumline and we placed third in the South Florida Winter Guard Association Circuit. The students gained a higher level of musicianship and felt a wonderful sense of achievement through hard work, discipline, and great instruction from the staff.
This year I decided to start a percussion class. In my school this falls under a general title of Instrumental Ensemble or Instrumental Techniques. This class is open to everyone who wants to learn an instrument regardless of prior experience. We have three 4.3 octave Dynasty marimbas and two Dynasty vibes, as well as some old Musser xylophones that we use in the class. We also have students on timpani, suspended cymbals, concert snare drum, and concert toms. This allows the students to learn ensemble musicianship even when we are working on scale-type exercises.
Some of the snare drummers and tenors are in the percussion class and they are learning how to be proficient mallet players. The majority of the class is comprised of students who have always wanted to learn how to play an instrument, but have not had the opportunity. Being a trombonist myself, I have hired a recent graduate from The University of Miami to come in to team teach the class with me. When I presented this idea to the administration, the PTA agreed to help fund the cost of having someone come in once a week.
The percussion class focuses on correct technique, rehearsal etiquette, reading music (basic theory), and ensemble playing. The students have learned some of the basic scale exercises and the class can play 6 major scales in just the seventh week of school. For repertoire we are currently using some basic mallet ensemble music. We are working on Chick Corea’s Children’s Songs number 9, 2, and 14 arranged for bells, xylophone, vibes, and marimba. The students are learning about dynamics and what it means to blend with other instruments. This is incredibly beneficial to my new students as well as to my more advanced kids who do not have much mallet experience. The goal of the class is to create well rounded percussionists, not just “drummers”. The result that I was not expecting was the boost to the music program in the number of participants as well student morale.
Because of the class we now have 33 kids in the Winter Drumline in only it’s second year. This includes a full pit as well as 18 marching members on the floor. In a program that was essentially dead a little more than a year ago, we have a large Winter Drumline with a goal to fly to Dayton this year to compete at WGI World Finals. The excitement of the Drumline is spreading throughout the school as well as the middle school feeder program and causing kids to come out of the woodwork to join the program.
Through the use of percussion methods and the creation of a percussion class, the program is building back up quicker than anyone had imagined. The students are excited about music again and the administration is thrilled that the school is being represented in a professional manner, both at the state as well as at the national level.
If you have any questions about how to start a Percussion Methods class in your school or would like to see copies of my syllabi please feel free to email me at noahbellamy@dadeschools.net.
Noah Bellamy is currently the Director of Bands and Orchestra at Miami Beach Senior High School and serves as the Dade County Scholastic Representative to the South Florida Winter Guard Association. Prior to moving to Miami Beach, Noah served as the Visual Caption Head for the BOA Champion Centerville Jazz Band and consistently worked with the World Class Winter Drumline and served as the assistant director for the “A” Drumline. He has been on the design team for over 50 marching shows for schools around the country and has over 20 WGI and BOA medals to his name. Noah is an Education Artist for Innovative Percussion, Inc. and his schools play exclusively on Dynasty USA percussion instruments.
