The earliest known examples of percussion instruments idiophones made mammoth bones found in present-day Belgium. These instruments are thought to date back to over 60,000 B.C. and are idiophones which mean they produce sound via the vibration of the entire instrument. Over the year percussion instruments had under gone various evolvement and transformations. The word percussion comes from the Latin word percussionem, which means “a striking, a blow. The word was first used in 1776 to describe musical instruments. Although, other school of thought believes says the term percussion instruments dates to 1619, when the German music theorist and composer Michael Praetorius wrote of percussa, klopfende.
A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles. Some examples are drums, cymbal talking drum.
Percussion instruments such as drum plays a rhythmic role in nearly every genre of music, spanning centuries and continents. From early instruments made to the electronic types, they have improvement and innovations. For instance, the history of drums involves a wide array of musical styles as race and places varies so also is the drum.
Drumline have been around since the existence of bands. According to the New World Encyclopedia, marching bands developed out of military bands. The band was used to direct the movements of troops on the battlefield, but when that role died out, the bands shifted into more ceremonial roles. In sub-Sahara Africa
Drumline is also known as the "battery," or "batterie." It is a section of percussion instruments usually played as part of a musical marching ensemble. A drumline can also be a section on their own competing against other drumlines.
A Drumline competition is a music competition that features up to 50 or more bands or musicians and focusing on percussion playing, specifically the playing of marching percussion instruments.
These competitions are very similar to marching band competitions. The difference is that they feature only the drumline, or percussion section, of an ensemble, or an ensemble that normally only employs percussionists. Across the globe where this kind of musical competition had taken solid root, participants normally are in high school or high institution of learning and enter the combination as part of the academic institution's musical arts program.
In general, musicians play four different instruments in the battery, the section of a drumline that marches, in drumline competitions. These include snare drums, bass drums, tenor drums and cymbals. Some drumlines still use marching versions of glockenspiels and xylophones, but this is less common. Musicians also may include other stationary instruments in the pit or front ensemble, the section of the drumline that does not march. Examples of front ensemble instruments include chimes, timpani and xylophone.
A drumline competition is a musical event, but judges do not judge based on musicality alone. Much of a drumline competition focuses on showmanship. Participants usually organize their performance according to a theme, and they choreograph every step and stick movement to create specific effects. If audience likes what they see and hear the drumline do, they commonly whistle, clap and cheer to show encouragement. Drumline competitions usually have at least five judges, including a head, music, visual, general effects and tabulation judge, to look at the different aspects of the show in depth.
During a drumline competition, participants must adhere to the strict rules governing the event, with general guidelines set by the SRHD DRUMLINE LIMITED, the promoter of the event in Nigeria. These regulations cover everything from getting on and off the performance area to the use of peripheral audio or visual equipment. Failure to comply with drumline competition rules usually results in the judges assigning one or more penalties to the performing group. Groups must pay close attention to regulations, particularly at the state and national levels, to prevent technicalities that result in a lower score or outright disqualification.