Journal #8 - Marching Arts & Drumlines

In the drumline workshop with Quinn Fleming, I have learned just how engaging

and fun drumlines can be. It makes me wish that York restarts the drumline that it used

to have and continues it for many years. In the lecture, he spoke about how a teacher

could resort to teaching a “boring” curriculum, or make things fun for the student using

games and puzzles. This is where marching bands come in because they are a great

source for student engagement and that was evident in the workshop.

When we got around to playing songs, I realized at that moment the power of

unity. Simply coming together to create music that had people bobbing their heads or

tapping their feet was very uplifting. If I were to become a music educator one day, I

would want my students to have that same feeling whenever, and wherever they play.

It’s an experience that cannot be fully replicated in any other art form or subject. From

this experience, I have come to the conclusion as to why the marching arts are so

important. As mentioned in the lecture, marching band is more for social purposes than

performance. Watching those videos in class gave me a feeling similar to longing. A

feeling said, “I want to be a part of something like that”. So in that respect, the marching

arts has these effects on the participant and the observer. For the participant, there is

that sense of belonging. For the observer, they may feel like this is something they

would want to be a part of as well.

 In the workshop, I had picked the snare drum to play. It was definitely fun and

engaging to play alongside my peers and share this experience with them. It reminded

me of the importance of listening to each other, and the conductor, and watching for his

prompts as well. Even though, this is something that I should always know as a

musician it can be easy to forget sometimes and you get caught up in your own world.

Having a drumline in a classroom of my own could help a lot of students who

may not be into the melodic instruments. Percussion has a special place in terms of

engagement and appeal. For example, as soon as we all got our instruments it became

very loud, very quickly. Everyone began playing to their own beat and it reminded me of

what happens when children receive percussive instruments. This is not to say that

melodic instruments do not have that same appeal, but I believe that percussion is

accessible in terms of learning. It’s simple because all you have to do is hit the drum.

Then you are on your way to making whatever beat you want. I believe this is how

drumline can be used to engage any student in any classroom. There is a community,

the social aspect, and the engagement that Mr. Fleming had spoken about in the

lecture.