Modern day drumline warmups

[BozzlyB]

Back in the day drumline exercises were just that, exercises. Usually fairly brief and extrememly repettitive. At some point certain lines began writing actual "pieces" for lines to play as warm ups. SCV is probably the best example, and I wouldn't be surprised if they were the first to do this. Does anyone know who deserves the credit for making the switch? "In the lot" fans are forever grateful!

[friceox]

I don't know the definate answer, but Red's Rhumba written by Colin McNutt for Star of Indiana has to be somewhere around it.

[markdewine]

Weren't the Troopers pioneers? And of course, Pioneer is full of pioneers.

[Appleknocker]

The first corps I can remember that actually had something cool to watch as a warm-up was SCV.

The year 1969,....and I still hum it at times.

[BigSnareline]

Back in the day drumline exercises were just that, exercises. Usually fairly brief and extrememly repettitive. At some point certain lines began writing actual "pieces" for lines to play as warm ups. SCV is probably the best example, and I wouldn't be surprised if they were the first to do this. Does anyone know who deserves the credit for making the switch? "In the lot" fans are forever grateful!

Me! -OK not me but I'm thinking Star or SCV. SCV has/had the better arrangements though.

[ironlips]

Two of the earliest were Jerry Shellmer with Boston and the Sunrisers, and Fred Sanford with Troopers and Santa Clara. They were developing these techniques with much success from the mid-60s.

[Kekkles]

am i the only one who HATES those warm up "pieces"? honestly, i've every time i play through one of those i feel like it was completely ineffective as far as warming me up.

one thing i noticed with those lines that use warm up pieces is that they also don't mark time very often... like the blue devils. maybe that's why their drum break was torn at every single entrance last year at finals? hmm...

[FTNK]

Wow Kekkles, you are truly a master of pissing in people's Cheerios :wink:

[Kekkles]

Wow Kekkles, you are truly a master of pissing in people's Cheerios :wink:

lol... that gave me a laugh :)

seriously though, i honestly wonder if i'm the only one that hates that kind of thing. i still play those warm ups just to get practice, but it just rubs me the wrong way, for whatever reason. so, what is that makes the rest of you love this stuff so much?

[kerickson]

There very well may have been some drumline "pieces" prior to the current craze. However, it was Murray Gusseck that is responsible for the current modus operandi in the parking lot. While still a member of SCV, Murray composed "Martian Mambo" (1990-91) and "Poof!" (1992). These are the pieces that set the standard. Colin composed "Red's Rhumba" in 1992 while a member of SCV. We read through it a few times and ultimately decided upon playing "Poof!" Red's Rhumba would have to wait another year to be given the attention it so richly deserved (Star 1993). All three of these pieces were composed as on-the-field, 60-second warm-ups.

Murray would shake things up in the lot once again right around 2000-2001 (not sure on a specific season). This is the time he started developing the extended warm-up: a longer, progressive, usually groove-oriented exercise that may evolve over several minutes. SCV Double Beat, Basic Strokes, Spanks, and Krackus all fit into this category. The concept is to, aside from developing the hands, work on the mental stamina required to face the demands of an 11-minute field production.

While everybody has their own tastes in parking lot fare, these "parking lot etudes" (as Murray so aptly titled his book) have indeed breathed new life and a much higher technical and MUSICAL demand into an ever-changing activity.