Drumline 2011 Keynotes:Layout 1.qxd - State Theatre

Welcome to the show! 2
The State Theatre in New Brunswick, New Jersey welcomes you
to the school-day performance of DrumLine Live! This live
theatrical performance is inspired by the traditional marching
bands of America’s historically black colleges and universities
(HBCUs). While the show was created by the same musical team
responsible for the popular film Drumline, it is NOT a stage
version of the movie: there’s no story or characters—just music,
marching, and an eye-popping spectacle of colorful costumes and
choreography. Presenting marching band arrangements of more
than a century’s worth of American popular music, the
performance draws on diverse cultures, societies and historical
periods, encompassing rhythm and blues, jazz, pop, and hip hop.
These Keynotes describe many of the songs and instruments
used in the performance. You’ll also find cultural and historical
background on HBCUs and their marching bands.
CONTENTS
Welcome to the Show! ............................................................2
The Program ................................................................................3
Musical Highlights ......................................................................4
Marching Bands ..........................................................................5
The Drumline ................................................................................6
HBCUs..............................................................................................7
Percussion ......................................................................................8
Brass ................................................................................................9
Woodwinds ................................................................................10
Get Ready! ..................................................................................11
Keynotes are made possible by a
generous grant from Bank of America
Charitable Foundation.
The State Theatre’s education program is funded in part by Bank of America Charitable Foundation, Colgate-
Palmolive, The Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, E & G Foundation, Gannett Foundation, The William G. & Helen C.
Hoffman Foundation, The Horizon Foundation for New Jersey, Johnson & Johnson Family of Companies, J. Seward
Johnson, Sr. 1963 Charitable Trust, Karma Foundation, The Blanche and Irving Laurie Foundation, McCrane
Foundation, MetLife Foundation, Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation, National Starch, New England Foundation for the
Arts, New Jersey State Council on the Arts, Pennsylvania Performing Arts on Tour, PNC Foundation, Bill & Cathy
Powell, The Provident Bank Foundation, PSE&G, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, TD Bank, and Wachovia Wells
Fargo Foundation. Their support is gratefully acknowledged.
The presentation of DrumLine Live! is supported by PSE&G.
Funding has been made possible in
part by the New Jersey State
Council on the Arts/Department of
State, a partner agency of the
National Endowment for the Arts.
Continental
Airlines is the
official airline
of the State
Theatre.
The Heldrich
is the official
hotel of the
State Theatre.
Keynotes are produced by the Education
Department of the State Theatre,
New Brunswick, NJ.
Lian Farrer, Vice President for Education
Online at www.StateTheatreNJ.org/Keynotes
Keynotes for Drumline LIVE written and designed by
Jennifer Cunha.
Edited by Lian Farrer and Katie Pyott.
© 2010 State Theatre
Find us at www.StateTheatreNJ.org
Contact: education@StateTheatreNJ.org
The State Theatre, a premier nonprofit venue for the
performing arts and entertainment.

The Program 3
ACT I
The Drumline is Born
The musical journey begins with the ancient rhythms of
the world’s first drummers, brought up to date in the
sound and fury of a mighty new band of musicians.
Shout It Out!
Nobody can sit still when these all-star musicians and
dancers strut their stuff. So get up, get loud, and shout it
out: there’s a band in the house!
Soul Mates
The
Some call it Motown. Some Motown
call it soul. The sweet,
record label is
smooth sounds
named for its
hometown: Detroit, Michigan,
defined an
the center of America’s auto
American musical
industry (“Motor
genre with songs made
Town.”)
famous by some of the
greatest recording artists of all
time.
ACT II
Swing Town
If you dig the sounds of the big bands of the 1930s and
1940s, you’ve come to the right place! Welcome to Swing
Town. Open twenty-four hours. Bring your dancin’ shoes!
Halftime!
This is a tribute to the halftime extravaganzas made
famous by the historically black college and university
marching bands from across America. Who needs a
stadium
American Jazz Jubilee
The ensemble pays homage to the musical treasures of
their past in this celebration of American jazz. Let’s make
some noise!
Drum Crazy
Ghostly drummers take
over the stage with some
magical fun and crazy rhythm.
You’ve never seen a drumline
like this before!
Gospel Celebration
Put on your Sunday-go-tomeetin’
clothes for a handclapping,
heart thumping
celebration of America’s
Southern gospel music.

Musical Highlights 4
DrumLine Live features nearly 40 songs that span more than a century of America’s musical history. Here is a sample of
some of the music you’ll hear in the show, with links to video clips that you can check out before attending the performance.
“Go Tell It on the Mountain”
This song was written by John W. Work sometime around
1865. It is an African American spiritual, a type of religious
folk song originated by African American slaves. Spirituals
could carry hidden messages of protest or express the
hope of a better life through religious faith. ”Go Tell It on
the Mountain” is a joyful Christmas song: “Go, tell it on the
mountain,/Over the hills and everywhere/Go, tell it on the
mountain,/That Jesus Christ is born.”
“It Don’t Mean a Thing”
”It Don’t Mean a Thing” was
In
composed by Duke Ellington
1977,
Stevie Wonder
in 1931 for his big band.
wrote “Sir Duke,” a tribute
The lyrics are by Irving to Duke Ellington. The song
Mills. This song became
is also featured in
Ellington’s signature tune and
DrumLine
Live.
brought the word “swing” into
everyday language. The major style of
popular music from about 1935 to 1945, swing was a type
of jazz that featured a “swinging” rhythm that was perfect
for dancing.
“Baby Love”
The Supremes, a female
singing group led by Diana
Ross, recorded ”Baby Love” in
1964 for the Motown label.
The song spent four weeks on
the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart. Motown was the first
record label owned by an African American and promoting
African American artists. The company developed a
distinctive sound that helped African American soul music
cross over into the wider pop music market.
“I Want You Back”
Pop music superstar
Michael Jackson first
gained fame as the 11-
year-old lead singer of
the Jackson 5, a vocal
group consisting of
Michael and brothers
Jermaine, Jackie, Marlon, and Tito. In 1969, the group
scored their first number-one single on the Motown label
with the up-tempo ”I Want You Back”.
“Shining Star”
The Chicago-based band Earth, Wind
& Fire had their first and only #1
Other
hit in 1975 with ”Shining
funk music
Star”. The song belongs
legends: George
to the funk genre—an
Clinton, Bootsy Collins, the
Commodores, Sly & the
African-inspired blend of
Family Stone,
soul, jazz, and R&B that
and War.
emerged in the mid-1960s. Along
with a funky, danceable bass groove,
the arrangement features a full horn section.
“Cold Hearted”
Best known today as a judge on television’s American Idol,
Paula Abdul began her career as a Los Angeles Lakers
cheerleader and went on to become an Emmy- and
Grammy-winning singer, dancer, and choreographer. The
pop hit, ”Cold Hearted” (sometimes known as “Cold-
Hearted Snake”), appeared on her 1989 multi-platinum
album, Forever Your Girl. The song was written by Elliot
Wolff.
Listen Up!
Listen to each of the songs by clicking the link. Do you recognize any of them Where have you heard them
before Take time to listen to the songs multiple times. Can you identify any specific instruments or rhythms
Which of these songs do you think will sound best played by the marching band in DrumLine Live How
faithful to the original versions do you think the performance will be Do you think it’s important for them to
sound like the original, or is it more important for them to put their own spin on the music

Marching Bands 5
Marching bands evolved out of
military bands. Originally,
instruments such as drums and
bugles were used to direct the
movement of troops on the battlefield
or set a marching pace for soldiers.
Many aspects of military bands survive
today in marching bands—from the
commands used to direct the formation (“About face!”
“Forward march!”) to the precision-drilled marching
formations and military-style uniforms. As music became less
important in battle, military bands were increasingly used for
ceremonial occasions and public concerts. New instruments
were invented, and composers such as Johann Strauss and John
Philip Sousa wrote music for brass and military bands.
Field musicians, particularly the drummers, had a long history
of staging drumming competitions to demonstrate their skill.
Separate from the military bands, these demonstration
parade units consisted of the traditional field music units and
color guards bearing rifles and swords. After World War II, the drum corps (bugles,
drums, and color guards) shifted from parade activity to field shows. The field,
often an athletic playing field, provided the space for more ambitious and
complex demonstrations of marching maneuvers.
Today’s marching bands typically include brass, percussion, and
woodwind instruments. Some marching bands can have upwards of 300
members—plus dancers and color guard. The band featured in DrumLine Live!
consists of about 30 band members and 5 dancers. They are a show band, the
type of band most commonly seen during football halftime shows.
You can get an idea of oldstyle
American military
drumming by watching a
sample by the Army Band’s
“Old Guard” of authentic
pre-1900 regimental
drumming styles.
The
very first
halftime show
was performed by the
University of Illinois
Marching Illini against
the University of
Chicago in
1907.
Design Your Own Halftime Show!
Does your school have a marching band After you have seen the
performance of DrumLine Live!, think about elements of the production that
could be used by your school’s band. Was there a piece of music you especially
liked A costume design Props Choreography
Working with several classmates, create your own production design for a
marching band number that could be performed by your school ensemble at
halftime. Make sure to specify as much detail as possible. Find a recording of
the music you would use and decide which marching-band instruments
would play. Sketch the costumes, scenery, and props. Work out some of
the steps for the choreography. Think about the lighting
design. Then present your concept to the rest of the
class. Which of your ideas did they like most

The Drumline 6
A drumline is a section of percussion instruments in a
marching band. Drumlines can be found on both the high
school and college level in marching bands, drum and bugle
corps, and pipe bands. They also perform on their own,
separately from a full band. While show bands and drumlines
have always been popular on large college campuses with a
strong football tradition, they gained wider fame with the
2002 film, Drumline.
There are two main components of a drumline. The battery
is the section that marches on the field as a group. In the
battery you’ll find snare drums, bass drums, tenor drums and
cymbals. The front ensemble does not move, but remains set
in one place on the field. This section consists of instruments
that would be impossible to play while moving: mallet
instruments such as xylophones, marimbas, and timpani. You
may also see congas, claves, gongs, bongos, tambourines, and
other percussion instruments.
One of the big challenges of a marching band is “keeping it
all together.” Unlike most other musical ensembles, marching
bands perform outdoors (sometimes in bad weather) and are
executing complicated choreography while they’re playing.
Here’s where the drumline is essential; it provides the same
important time-keeping function of a drumset player in a rock
or jazz band.
The popularity of marching band competitions has raised
the standard of drumline performance. To win competitions,
ensembles have to be excellent musicians and also come up
with new and improved “tricks” and techniques every year.
Drill, Baby, Drill!
Part of the fun of a show band performance is watching
the drill, where the band members arrange themselves into
different formations on the field. The shapes they make can
be geometrical, abstract, or even the school logo. New
members joining the band are given a drill book, with
diagrams of where they belong in each formation. Hours of
rehearsal go into creating these drills and transitioning
from one formation to the next. Band members may walk,
march, or even dance into their positions, but every move is
very tightly choreographed.
There are all kinds of special steps and maneuvers used
in the drill. Here are a few of the basic ones:
• High step - a style of marching often used by HBCU
marching bands that involves lifting the knee very high
• Glide or roll step - stepping gently on the heel with the
toe pointed up, and then rolling forward onto the toes
before lifting the foot
• Floating - everybody moving together, without breaking
up the design
• Scattering - each member moving independently
• Marking time - marching in place
Get in Step!
With your class, come up with a few different and interesting formations.
Decide whether or not you all want to move in exactly the same way. Practice
transitioning from one drill to the next. Does it look better when you walk or
march into position, or if you choreograph a little dance to get you from place
to place
Try this exercise again in two or more groups and challenge each other the
way the bands do in Drumline. Remember: it’s not just about the moves, but
also about the energy and feeling you put into “selling” the drill. Which group
moves better Whose performance was the flashiest
Imagine doing these drills while also playing an instrument. Consider how
much hard work goes into preparing a marching band for a performance. Can
you compare it to anything you do in your own life

HBCUs 8
America’s historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) are
defined by the Higher Education Act of 1965 as “...any historically
black college or university that was established prior to 1964, whose
principal mission was, and is, the education of black Americans...”
Currently there are 103 HBCUs, comprising both public and private,
two-year and four-year institutions, medical schools and community
colleges. Though originally founded to educate African American
students, HBCUs are open for admission to all students, regardless
of race.
Before the Civil War, there were only two private colleges for
African Americans: Lincoln University in Pennsylvania and
Wilberforce University in Ohio. Outside of these two schools, there
were practically no higher-education opportunities for African
American students. Many whites strongly opposed education for
black students, particularly in the South.
With the abolition of slavery, the situation slowly began to
improve. The Morrill Land-Grant Act of 1890 required that states
using federal land-grant funds open their schools to blacks as well
as whites—or establish segregated colleges for black students. The
legislation helped create 16 public institutions of higher education
exclusively for black students.
Additionally, private colleges and universities for black students
began to be established. Between 1861 and 1870, the American
Missionary Association (AMA) founded seven black colleges and 13
normal (teaching) schools. Private HBCUs continued to be created by
the AMA, the Freedmen’s Bureau, and black churches. Along with
the public HBCUs, they created a foundation for black higher
education that even today continues to produce African American
leaders in every area of life.
Notable HBCU Alumni
Erykah Badu ................Grambling State University
Sean “P. Diddy” Combs ............Howard University
Common ..............................Florida A&M University
Nikki Giovanni ......................................Fisk University
Langston Hughes ........................Lincoln University
Jesse Jackson..........................North Carolina A & T
Samuel L. Jackson ....................Morehouse College
Martin Luther King, Jr. ............Morehouse College
Spike Lee......................................Morehouse College
Thurgood Marshall ....................Lincoln University/
Howard University College of Law
Toni Morrison ..............................Howard University
Rosa Parks ........................Alabama State University
Jerry Rice..........Mississippi Valley State University
Anika Noni Rose ..............Florida A&M University
Wanda Sykes ............................Hampton University
Booker T. Washington ..............Hampton Institute
Alice Walker ....................................Spelman College
Oprah Winfrey ............Tennessee State University
Famous HBCU Marching Bands
Southern University and A&M College in Louisiana has a renowned band called The Human Jukebox. Made up
of 215 members, this band has performed at three presidential inaugurations, four Sugar Bowls, and five Super
Bowls, as well as at Yankee Stadium and Radio City Music Hall.
Mississippi’s Jackson State University band has been around since the 1940s. In 1971 the members voted to
name themselves The Sonic Boom of the South. Their dance team is called the Prancing J-settes and they are
backed by a drumline called “War and Thunder.”
Other HBCU bands include the Grambling State University Tiger Marching Band, the Mighty Marching Hornets
from Alabama State University, and the Marching 101 from South Caroline State University. These bands come
together to compete against one another at competitions like the Big Southern Classic and the Bayou Classic.

Percussion 8
The percussion family is the oldest, largest, and most diverse section of a band or orchestra. Its members include any
instrument that is played by hitting, shaking, rubbing, or scraping. Some can play specific pitches (tuned percussion), while
others do not (untuned percussion). The main categories of percussion are:
• drums - an instrument that has an animal skin or plastic membrane stretched over one or both ends of a shell. It is
played by hitting the drumhead (or sometimes the sides) with the hand or a stick or mallet. There are both tuned and
untuned drums.
• xylophone family - a group of tuned percussion that includes the xylophone, marimba, vibraphone, and
glockenspiel. These instruments are made up of wooden or metal bars of different lengths that are arranged like the keys
of a piano. The bars are struck with mallets to produce the different pitches. Some members of this family have metal
tubes called resonators below each bar to help amplify the sound.
• shakers, scrapers, and other percussion - these instruments add all kinds of
interesting colors and effects to the band or orchestra. They include the anvil, castanets, chimes, claves, cowbell, güiro,
maracas, ratchet, shekere, tambourine, temple blocks, triangle, washboard, whip, and wood block.
xylophone - This instrument consists of a set of
wooden keys (made of wood, plastic, or rubber) of
graduating lengths.
The keys are struck
with mallets to
produce their
sound. The shorter
the key, the higher
the pitch.
glockenspiel (GLOK-inshpeel)
- a set of tuned steel bars
played with wooden hammers. It is
pitched much higher than the
xylophone and has no resonators. The
marching-band version of this
instrument, also known as a bell lyre,
(pictured) is shaped like a lyre and held upright.
cymbals - This modern percussion instrument
consists of two metal plates that are banged together to
produce a clashing sound. Cymbals are also part of the
drumset used in jazz, rock, and
other contemporary music;
among these is the hi-hat,
a pair of cymbals mounted
on a stand and operated
with a foot pedal.
bass drum - can be
anywhere from 13” to 36” in
diameter; the larger the
drum, the lower the pitch. In
marching bands there is a
“bass line” with up to 5 band
members playing bass drums of
different pitches.
snare drum - a small, wooden twoheaded
drum with “snares “—wires made of plastic, animal
gut, or metal—stretched across its
lower head. When the top
drumhead is struck with
wooden sticks, the snares
vibrate against the bottom
head, making a rattling sound.
cowbell - as its name implies, this metal instrument
developed from the bell hung around a cow’s neck
to help the herder keep track of its whereabouts.
In music, you’ll hear the cowbell keeping the
beat in salsa, pop, R&B, hip-hop, and other
genres. Unlike its ancestor, this cowbell has
no clapper. It is played by hitting with a
stick, with different tones produced by
striking different parts of the bell. Cowbells are
also popular noisemakers at sports events.

Brass 9
Instruments in the brass family are all made of metal tubing with a cup-shaped mouthpiece
at one end and a wide opening (called the bell) at the other end. They are played by
buzzing your lips against the mouthpiece to make the air inside the tube vibrate. As
trumpet mutes
with the strings and woodwinds, how high or low a sound the instrument makes is
related to its size; in a brass instrument, the longer the tubing, the lower the sound.
The opening inside the tubing of a brass instrument is known as the bore. The
size and shape of the bore also affects the way the instrument sounds.
Different pitches can be produced on brass instruments in several ways. One way
The
is by changing the amount of tension in the lips and the speed of the vibrating air. Another way is special
to change the length of the tube, most often by pressing one or more valves. The trombone is an mouth position
exception; it changes the length of its tube by an adjustable slide that the player moves in used for playing brass
and out.
and woodwind instruments is
called an EMBOUCHURE
Brass instruments are sometimes played with a mute—a cone-shaped device that is
(AHM-booshure).
inserted into the bell of the instrument to make it play more softly. Muting also changes the
tone quality (basic sound) of the instrument.
trumpet – the highest instrument in the brass family.
It has a brighter tone than the cornet and flugelhorn, which
it closely resembles. The
trumpet is a
versatile
instrument, used
in marching bands,
jazz ensembles, and classical
orchestras.
cornet – a three-valved brass
instrument similar to the
trumpet, but with a
deeper mouthpiece and a
mellower tone. The cornet
is used in military and brass
bands, but not generally in a symphony orchestra.
mellophone – a brass instrument used in marching
bands in place of the French horn. Unlike the French
horn, it has a bell that faces
forward, so the
sound travels in the
direction the player is
marching.
trombone – a brass
instrument that produces different
notes using a slide instead of
valves to change the length of the
tubing. There is a regular (tenor) and
the bass trombone. The bass
version has two valves that allow it to play
lower notes.
euphonium (you-FOnee-um)
- a smaller, higher
relative of the tuba. It can have
three or four valves. There’s a
close relative to the euphonium
called a baritone.
tuba – the largest and lowest
of the brass instruments, used in classical
music and concert bands. They can
have anywhere from three to six
valves. The tuba is twice as long as
the euphonium or baritone. In
fact, if you uncoiled the
tubing of a B-flat tuba, it
would be 18 feet long!

Woodwinds 10
As the name suggests, most members of the woodwind family were originally made of wood. These days, some (such as
the flute and saxophone) are most often made out of brass or another metal. Like brass instruments, the woodwinds produce
their sound by making air vibrate inside a hollow tube. Instead of buzzing their lips against a mouthpiece, however,
woodwind players blow air against or into an opening in the instrument. With most woodwinds, the player blows against a
thin piece of wood called a reed. Reeds come in single or double form; the reed instruments in DrumLine Live! use a single
reed. The flute and piccolo are a bit different; they don’t have a reed and the player blows against the edge of the opening
rather than directly into it.
flute – a metal instrument played by blowing air against
the edge (rather than into) the mouthpiece. The concert flute
has 25 keys that open or close off holes along the length of
the instrument. Different pitches are produced depending on
which finger-holes are opened or closed and on how the
flute is blown. Flutes were originally made of wood, which
explains
why they’re
in the woodwind
family. They are unlike
the other members of this
group in that they don’t have a reed,
and they’re held horizontally instead of
vertically.
piccolo – a
smaller version of the
flute. Pitched an octave
higher than the flute, it’s the
highest instrument in the
orchestra or band. Piccolos are
usually made from metal or
wood.
clarinet – a family of
instruments of different sizes and
ranges. Clarinets are usually made
of wood, with metal keys. On the
underside of the mouthpiece is a
single reed, a thin strip of plant or
synthetic material that vibrates when
the player blows air across it.
saxophone – an
instrument invented in the 1840s by
Adolphe Sax. Because it arrived on the
scene rather late compared to other
instruments, you won’t often find the
saxophone in classical orchestras. Though it
is made of brass, it’s considered a woodwind
because it is played the same way as most
of the other woodwinds; sound is produced
by an oscillating reed and the different
notes are produced by opening and closing
keys. The smaller, higher-pitched
saxophones are straight, but the larger
saxes have a U-shaped bend that makes the
bell point straight up. The instrument has a
distinctive tone that has made it popular in pop, big band
music, rock and roll, and especially jazz.
Tips for Watching the Show
• Be an active listener. Start by looking for and
identifying the instruments you see and hear.
• Think about the music as you are listening to it.
Feel the tempo: is the music fast or slow
Notice when the tempo changes. Be aware
of dynamics (loudness). Is the music
mostly quiet or more forceful
• Focus on the “visual ensemble “—the
way the music is interpreted visually.
Do the drills match the music Are the
executed with flair and precision
• Observe the lighting,
choreography, costuming, and
stage effects. What do they add to
each piece

Get Ready! 11
Learn Your Part.
One essential collaborator needed to create a live
performance is the audience. The weeks and months of planning
and preparation that go into a show are directed toward
creating a performance that will inspire and
entertain you and the other people who are
watching and listening. Your role in this artistic
collaboration is very important. Make sure
you know your part:
• When you arrive at the theater, follow
an usher to your seat.
• Before the show begins, make sure to
turn off and put away all electronic
devices, including cell phones, portable
games and music, cameras, and
recording equipment. Keep them off for
the entire performance.
• Once the house lights (the lights in
the part of the theater where the
audience is sitting) go down,
focus all your attention on the
stage. Watch and listen carefully
to the performance.
• Attending a live show is not the same as
watching television at home. At the
theater, talking, eating, and moving around
TURN IT OFF.
NO PHOTOS.
disturbs the performers and other members
of the audience. And please—no texting or
checking messages during the show!
• If something in the show is meant to be
funny, go ahead and laugh. Clap or sing
along—but only if you’re invited by the
performers to do so. And of course, feel
free to applaud at the end of the
performance if you liked what you saw.
• After the performers are finished taking
their bows, stay in your seat until your
group gets the signal to leave the
theater.
QUIET, PLEASE!
Resources
BOOKS
American Band, by Kristen
Laine. Gotham, 2007.
The Complete Marching Band
Resource Manual, by Wayne
Bailey. University of
Pennsylvania Press, 2003.
I’ll Find a Way or Make One:
A Tribute to Historically
Black Colleges and
Universities, by Dwayne
Ashley, Juan Williams,
and Adrienne Ingrum.
Amistad, 2004.
The Marching Band
Handbook, compiled
by Kim R. Holston.
McFarland &
Company, 2004.
Science of Percussion Instruments
(Series in Popular Science), by Thomas D. Rossing.
World Scientific Publishing Company, 2000.
WEBSITES
www.marching.com
www.dci.org - Drum Corps International
www.dbcna.com - Drum and Bugle Corps of North
America
www.umassdrumline.org - University of
Massachusetts Marching Band
www.playmusic.org - Click on the tuba player to see
and hear the instruments, of the orchestra.
www.hbcunetwork.com/The_History_Of_HBCUs_
Creation.cfm - History of historically black colleges
and universities.
FILM
Drumline. 20th Century Fox, 2002. Rated PG-13.
Standing in the Shadows of Motown. 2002. Rated PG.
Documentary about the Funk Brothers, musicians
who backed up dozens of Motown artists.