DRUMLINE LIVE

passport
SchoolTime
to culture
Teacher’s Guide 2012–2013
DRUMLINE
LIVE
Generous support
for SchoolTime
provided, in part, by
arts education@
NEW JERSEY PERFORMING ARTS CENTER
njpac.org • DRUMLINE LIVE 1
arts education@
NEW JERSEY PERFORMING ARTS CENTER
contents
On Stage 3
In step with DRUMLINE LIVE
Meet the Artist 4
A chat with the show’s creator
Did You Know? 5
The drumline and HBCU
In the Classroom 6
Related activities and resources
KID POWER!
Through energy efficiency and
conservation, kids can help preserve
our planet’s rich natural resources and
promote a healthy environment.
TIP OF THE DAY
All together now
The word synchronization has many
definitions and applications in our world.
In DRUMLINE LIVE, synchronization—
the coordination of events to attain a
single result—enables a large number of
performers to march and play in unison.
Synchronization keeps trains running on a
timetable, generates power, regulates traffic
lights, and keeps our clocks, cell phones and
computers “in sync.” Ask students for other
examples of how synchronization saves
energy and makes everyday living
more efficient.
Made possible through the generosity
of the PSEG Foundation.
NJPAC’s Summer Youth Performance Workshop
The New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC) Arts Education Department presents
the 16th season of the Passport to Culture SchoolTime Performance Series.
Teacher’s Resource Guide
This guide will help you prepare your class for an enriching experience at our
SchoolTime Passport to Culture Performance. We provide discussion ideas, activities
and reading resources that promote arts literacy in your classroom and link to New
Jersey’s Core Curriculum Content Standards. You can find additional resources online
at artsed.njpac.org.
Permission is granted to copy and distribute this guide to any class attending a
2012–2013 SchoolTime performance (all other rights reserved).
NJPAC Arts Education
At NJPAC, our mission is to join with parents, teachers and community to cultivate
an appreciation of the arts for all children in all schools. We believe the arts provide
an effective means of knowing and learning that helps children find the self-esteem,
poise and confidence they need to succeed in every facet of life. Our innovative
programs are designed to engage the artist in every child.
In-School Residencies
NJPAC brings the joy of dance, music and theater directly into your classroom
with In-School Residencies. Our teaching artists create stimulating performing
arts experiences that engage students’ imaginations and encourage self-expression.
Residencies are customized to meet the curricular goals of the classroom teacher.
Each residency ends with a performance that teaches students to work together and
believe in themselves.
SchoolTime and FamilyTime Performances
Open a world of culture to your students through performances of music, dance,
storytelling, theater, and puppetry through professional stage productions by local,
national and international artists. Performances are enriched by teacher resource
guides as well as Q&A sessions with the artists.
Arts Training Programs
Students interested in acting, dance, musical theater, vocal or instrumental music will
find an artistic home at NJPAC where creative expression and solid technique serve as
cornerstones of the Arts Training programs. Teaching Artists with exceptional professional experience guide students at all levels of arts learning (beginner, intermediate
and advanced) to greater creative understanding and self-confidence.
visit artsed.njpac.org
Find additional resources by clicking on SchoolTime Performances
2 DRUMLINE LIVE • njpac.org
Sound-sational
ON STAGE
The blue and gold costumes pictured in a scene from DRUMLINE LIVE recall those used in the film Drumline, which inspired the stage show.
By Lisa Vernon Sparks
Thundering into NJPAC for a return
appearance, DRUMLINE LIVE is an
animated and interactive theatrical show
combining the evolution of AfricanAmerican music and the story of marching
bands at historically black colleges and
universities (HBCU).
The 32-member cast draws young talent
from some of the top HBCU marching
bands, such as Florida A&M University,
Jackson State University, Tennessee State
University, and others. Trained as stage
actors, in addition to their specialties as
instrumentalists, vocalists and dancers,
they dazzle the audience with an all-out
rendering of a traditional half-time show at
an HBCU game. A highlight of an HBCU
marching band is the drumline, the highstepping procession of percussionists in a
marching band, presented not only as musicians, but as a living art form.
“We tried to put the HBCU experience on
stage,” says co-producer Reggie Brayon—
therefore the set resembles a college football
field with stands. “We do a little stepping.
… We put in a little theatrical flash, but we
tried to keep it true. (The audience) will
get an idea of the energy, the fun (and) the
variety of the music performed.”
Right from the start, the show astounds
by transporting audiences back to the
origins of African-American music from
its cultural roots in Africa to the great
musical genres of the 20th century and
beyond: funk, soul, blues, gospel, R&B,
Duke Ellington, Aretha Franklin, Hoagy
Carmichael, James Brown, Michael Jackson,
Slick Rick, and Parliament-Funkadelic. The
performers also create synergy with audience members by inviting them to come up
on stage.
“We don’t want people just watching us,”
Brayon says. “We want them to get involved.
“DRUMLINE LIVE has made its way around the country,
showing the thrill, the musical genius and the true flavor of
the ever-exciting HBCU halftime show.”
— The Star-Ledger
and rap. The performance reveals the
musical connection among these styles
while infusing dance, song and theater.
DRUMLINE LIVE is a historic musical
voyage that demonstrates how unity comes
from individual working parts, often under
the leadership of a drum major’s whistle,
baton or hand gesture.
The company, now on its fourth national
tour, plays music from such artists as
They get some choreography (to learn).”
For the finale, the band and the dancers
strut into the aisles. The show closes in a
roaring extravaganza, Mardi Gras style,
outside Prudential Hall.
Lisa Vernon Sparks is a staff writer with
The Providence Journal in Rhode Island.
She is a former professional ballerina and
an alumna of the Dance Theatre of Harlem.
njpac.org • DRUMLINE LIVE 3
MEET THE ARTIST
A musical
journey
Performing on trumpet sparked Don P. Roberts’ love of music and marching bands.
Growing up in Atlanta, DRUMLINE
LIVE creator and director Don P. Roberts
first embraced the marching band experience as a trumpet player in middle school.
Thanks to a high school teacher, who saw his
potential for leadership, the young performer
embarked on a career path in music.
Still, he was surprised when a call
came from music producer Dallas Austin
offering him the job as band director and
technical consultant for a new feature film
titled Drumline.
“They came to me. I am not a Hollywood
guy,” Roberts recalls candidly of his involve­
“I am a true band educator. I want to change
kids’ lives in my community.”
— Don P. Roberts
At his alma mater, Florida A&M
University—one of the historically black
colleges and universities (HBCU)—Roberts
studied music education and honed his
skills as the band’s drum major. He earned
a master’s degree at Jacksonville State
University in Alabama and eventually
returned to Georgia, where he taught and
supervised marching bands in the DeKalb
County school system.
4 DRUMLINE LIVE • njpac.org
ment with the 2002 movie, which starred
Nick Cannon and paraded some of the
country’s outstanding HBCU band talents.
“I am a true band educator. I want to change
kids’ lives in my community.”
The Hollywood experience was not
only amazing for Roberts, it gave him an
idea. Following the film’s success, Roberts
devised a way to bring the HBCU drumline
experience to the stage. With Drumline
colleague Demetrius Hubert and Reggie
Brayon, he co-produced a 10-minute piece
for the UniverSoul Circus. Originally called
Halftime Live!, it became a sensation.
The team attracted the attention of
Columbia Artists Management Inc. and the
show was retitled DRUMLINE LIVE. But
don’t be fooled—it’s nothing like the movie,
Roberts notes.
“The movie gave you an idea of what the
HBCU culture was about,” he explains. “Our
show goes beyond the (traditional) halftime
show. You’re going to get gospel and how
it relates to Usher and Mary J. Blige. It’s up
close. It is drums—and dancers.”
Roberts says the show pays homage
to the roots of African-American music
through the platform of the HBCU
marching bands.
“The storyline is the music,” he concludes.
“You will have a walking history lesson.”
— L.V.S.
Leading the
In a traditional marching band, the
drumline is the segment that features the
percussion instruments. This section, with
its own styles of dance and music, is the
most unique in the band because it can
perform a complete show by itself or be
a featured highlight to the main halftime
show. As a result, the drumline lends itself
to more creative choreography, musical
styles and drill formats.
Drumlines are popular in high school and
college marching bands and are also found
in drum and bugle corps and pipe bands.
In 2002, the drumline concept gained
notoriety with the release of the movie
Drumline, which showcased the legacy of
marching bands from historically black
colleges and universities (HBCU).
In DRUMLINE LIVE, the drumline
is a crucial part of the stage production;
producers say it is really the band’s identity. The traditional high-stepping style
of marching is like a dance routine. It is
a very different approach than what is
seen in military corps style. Learning the
drumline style is not as easy. The musicians
are executing complicated formations and
precision drills—involving movements such
as the high step (point and drive) and the
glide (roll step)—while playing a heavy
instrument.
The drumline has two main parts: the
battery and the front ensemble. The battery
marches on the field as a unit. The instruments include snare drums, tenor drums,
bass drums, and cymbals. The drumline is
the heart and pulse of the band and keeps
the marchers and the sound flowing in a
rhythmic, melodic progression. The front
ensemble stays in a set position. The instruments typically featured are xylophones,
marimbas, cowbells, chimes, and timpani.
Other sections in a marching band
supporting the drumline include the brass
section with its trumpets, trombones and
French horns and the woodwind section
composed of saxophones, flutes and piccolos.
At college football games, HBCU bands are
known to perform pre-game and at the halftime and “fifth quarter” (after-event).
Historically black colleges and universities trace their beginnings to Pennsylvania,
DID YOU KNOW?
march
The drumline at Tennessee State University is one of the most prestigious among HBCU marching bands.
more than two decades before the end of
slavery. In 1837, Richard Humphreys, a
Quaker philanthropist born on a plantation
in the West Indies, founded the Institute
for Colored Youth in Philadelphia. There,
free people of African descent were taught
to become educators. The school relocated
to farmland 25 miles west of Philadelphia
and was renamed Cheyney University
of Pennsylvania. However, the first of
the HBCU to grant degrees was Lincoln
University in Chester County, founded in
1854 as the Ashmun Institute. By the beginning of the 20th century, some 85 schools
had been set up by white philanthropists,
free blacks or churches to teach the children
of former slaves.
The HBCU were the best option for
most blacks seeking higher education until
about 1954 when the U.S. Supreme Court
ended the “separate but equal” mandate
in the landmark Brown vs. the Board of
Education decision. The Higher Education
Act of 1965 defines HBCU as “… any
historically black college or university that
was established prior to 1964, whose principal mission was, and is, the education of
black Americans, and that is accredited by
a nationally recognized accrediting agency
or association ….”
The early HBCU marching bands were
created to raise funds. Some historians
believe that the first marching band was
at the Tuskegee Normal School (now
Tuskegee University). Other early AfricanAmerican collegiate bands include Florida
A&M University, Alabama State University,
Tennessee State University, and Jackson
State University. Today there are 105 public
and private accredited HBCU. In addition to four-year institutions, they include
community colleges and medical schools.
— L.V.S.
njpac.org • DRUMLINE LIVE 5
In the classroom
marching bands through competitions: the
Florida Classic, Honda Battle of the Bands
and the Bayou Classic, all of which attract
up to 50,000 attendees. Ask students to write
letters to their favorite marching band for
additional information. (1.1, 1.2)
2. Introduce students to a free-wheeling game:
Crazy Marching Band. Students imitate the
sounds heard in a marching band’s brass,
woodwind and percussion sections. Students
march in formation to a selected song or
orchestration while making the sounds of the
instruments. Beatboxing can be used for the
percussion sounds. (1.1, 1.3)
Before the
Performance
Actively engage students in learning to
identify the percussion sections of a marching
band through pictures and taped sounds or
CDs. Use a projector or hang reproduced
pictures of the instruments in the classroom.
• The Battery Section — the group first
marching onto the field. Percussion
instruments include snare, bass and tenor
drums with cymbals.
• The Front Ensemble — the section of the
band that doesn’t move. The instruments
include mallets, xylophones, marimbas,
congas, calves, bongos, tambourines,
and gongs.
On another day, clear a space in the
classroom or use the gym to have students
practice marching fun. Familiarize students
with the fundamental marching band steps:
• High Step/Point and Drive — lifting one’s
knees very high with a pointed toe.
• Glide or Roll — stepping gently on the
heel with the toes pointed up and then
rolling forward onto the toes before
lifting the foot.
• Floating — everyone moving together.
• Flanks — military formation (to the left,
to the right, to the rear march, etc.)
• Marching Time — marching in line.
Teach and then drill students on musical
terms and the instruments utilized in a
marching band. (Consult the DRUMLINE
LIVE Study Guide at drumlinelive.com.)
6 DRUMLINE LIVE • njpac.org
* Numbers indicate the NJ Core Curriculum
Content Standard(s) supported by the activity.
Give students the task of simulating a
marching band and drumline. Divide the
classroom into two groups. Each group
selects a leader to brainstorm and create a
name, formations and music played. Give
students time to practice their simulated
marching band (after school, a weekend,
during lunch).
Suggest that the groups participate in a
Battle of the Bands. Invite other classes to
see the battle. Share the band battle idea
with other classes in the school to continue
the momentum. As a reward, throw a pizza
party for the students and listen to recorded
band music. Offer a prize to both groups.
(1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.4) *
After the Performance
1. With the DRUMLINE LIVE performance fresh in their minds, have students
summarize their experience verbally. Write
the key responses, words, impressions, or
critiques on the blackboard or overhead
projector. Review each recollection.
Conclude this “flashback” activity by
giving students 10 minutes to write a few
paragraphs about their experiences. Read
and post the comments on a bulletin board.
Back to the computer for research. Lead
students through a Google search to familiarize themselves with the premier HBCU
(historically black colleges and universities)
marching bands. Searches might include
Southern University and A&M College,
Grambling State University, Jackson State
University, and Tennessee State University.
Encourage students to continue their Google
search to investigate the celebration of HBCU
More Resources
Books for Students and Teachers
Brandt, Courtney. The Line. iUniverse, Inc.,
2007.
Lumas, Giselle. Journal of a Cymbal Player—
Freshman Year. Donty Books, 2011.
Rudnicki, Lee and Scott Johnson. Tale of a
Drum Line. Broken Ocean Entertainment,
2012.
Websites
drumlinelive.com
linklogen.com/drumline.htm
Drummer Link Logen’s history of drumline.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drumline_
(film) Wikipedia entry for the 2002 film
Drumline.
drumpus.com
D’Rumpus Music. Site for percussion
musicians.
DVDs
Drumline. Fox 2000 Pictures, 2002. Rated
PG-13.
CDs
Drumline (soundtrack). Various artists. Jive,
2002.
DRUMLINE LIVE. Available through
drumlinelive.com.
Videos
CD Drumline ‘Children of the Night’ Practice.
youtube.com/watch?v=HXARcJ6RdzY
Teaching Science Through Music (Grades 5-12)
By Timothy and Katrina Macht
Music originates as sound. All sound is
created by vibration. The vibrations from
a vibrating object are sent to the eardrum.
Our eardrums vibrate when they come into
contact with vibrating air, and the brain
recognizes it as sound.
Sound has two variables, volume and
pitch. Volume can be loud or soft with all
gradations in between. Pitch is high or low
with all gradations in between. Loudness or
softness is in direct proportion to the size of
a vibrating object’s back and forth motion.
A narrow, limited back and forth motion
will produce a small sound. To increase
the volume, a larger, wider back and forth
motion must be created. Pitch is governed
by frequency (the number of times the back
and forth motion occurs in a second). Every
sound has a distinct pitch.
NJ Core Curriculum Content Science
Standards state that all students will “gain
an understanding of natural laws as they
apply to motion, forces, and energy transformations.” The exercise below investigates
how sound becomes music.
Pair off students. Give each pair a rubber
band. Have one student stretch the band
between his/her index fingers. Have the
partner pluck the rubber band. Listen for
volume and pitch. Now pull the band
further back before releasing it. Was the
sound produced louder or softer?
Have the student holding the band stretch
it tighter to create tension. Pluck the band
again. Was the pitch produced higher or
lower? Does the pitch change as the band is
stretched even tighter?
Now explore the differences between
noise and music. Ask students to listen as
you strike a ruler on the top of a table. Ask
them if this is noise or music. Next, use the
ruler to tap out a song. Though it may still
be perceived as noise, ask the students if
anything in the way you strike the table has
visit
changed. (Is there rhythm? Is there cadence?
Are some taps louder and others softer?)
Though they probably won’t be able to
distinguish the song, they should be able to
notice the difference between the first series
of taps and the second.
Remind students that not only true
musical instruments create music. Almost
any object can make music to someone’s ears
when you alter the volume, pitch, melody,
cadence, and rhythm. In the past, people
did not always have a piano, guitar or drum
available. Music was made with pots and
pans, ribbed washboards, blocks of wood,
and jugs filled with varying levels of water.
Teaching Science Through the Arts is
made possible through the generous
support of Roche.
artsed.njpac.org
and click to SchoolTime Performances/Teacher’s Resource Guides to learn more
about marching band instruments, courtesy of Yamaha Corporation of America.
DRUMLINE LIVE vocabulary list
arrangement — a new adaptation and
interpretation — the expression through
percussion — the beating or striking
orchestration of an already existing musical
piece.
performance of a particular conception of a
music piece.
band — a group of musicians organized to
jazz — a syncopated style of music
of a musical instrument or the clapping,
tapping or snapping of one’s fingers. The
most common percussion instrument heard
is a drum.
play together, often using woodwind, brass
and percussion instruments.
composer — a person who writes music.
dynamics — the interplay between
loudness and softness and smoothness
and “choppiness” of notes that are played
or sung.
gospel — a form of vocal church music
developed in the black Baptist churches of
the southern United States that incorporates
elements of African rhythm and music,
choir music and instrumental accompaniment, e.g., organ, drum, bass, percussion.
instrumentalist — a musician who plays
a musical instrument.
developed in the United States in which
improvisational skills and complex
harmonic structures are explored.
lighting — lights illuminate the performers
and create different moods by using varied
levels and/or different colors of light. Light
can focus the audience’s attention on a solo
performer, a group of performers or an
entire section of the stage.
melody — an organized succession of
rhythm — a regular pattern produced
by the length of strong and weak musical
sounds at a particular speed or tempo,
frequently called the beat.
score — a piece of music showing all the
vocal and/or instrumental parts, often used
by the conductor.
solo — a musical composition or passage
single musical notes arranged in a related
and recognizable pattern; a tune.
for an individual voice or instrument with
or without accompaniment.
musical director — a person who
syncopation — stressing the normally
oversees all aspects of an orchestra and
often serves as the conductor.
unaccented beats, often used in Africanderived music.
njpac.org • DRUMLINE LIVE 7
Acknowledgments as of 8/10/12
NJPAC Arts Education programs
are made possible by the generosity of:
Automatic Data Processing, Bank of
America, The Arts Education Endowment
Fund in Honor of Raymond G. Chambers,
Leon & Toby Cooperman, William
Randolph Hearst Foundation, The Horizon
Foundation for New Jersey, McCrane
Foundation, Merck Company Foundation,
Albert & Katharine Merck, The Prudential
Foundation, PSEG Foundation, Marian
& David Rocker, The Sagner Family
Foundation, The Star-Ledger/Samuel I.
Newhouse Foundation, Verizon, Victoria
Foundation, Wells Fargo, John & Suzanne
Willian / Goldman Sachs Gives and The
Women’s Association of NJPAC.
Additional support is provided by:
Advance Realty, Anonymous, C.R. Bard
Foundation, BD, The Frank and Lydia
Bergen Foundation, Berkeley College,
Allen & Joan Bildner, Bloomberg, Ann
and Stan Borowiec, Jennifer Chalsty,
The Johnny Mercer Foundation, Chase,
Edison Properties, Veronica Goldberg
Foundation, Meg & Howard Jacobs,
Johnson & Johnson, The MCJ Amelior
Foundation, The New Jersey Cultural Trust,
The New Jersey State Council on the Arts,
Novo Nordisk, Panasonic Corporation of
North America, Pechter Foundation, PNC
Foundation on behalf of the PNC Grow
Up Great program, The Provident Bank
Foundation, E. Franklin Robbins Charitable
Trust, Roche, TD Charitable Foundation,
Turrell Fund, and The Blanche M. &
George L. Watts Mountainside Community
Foundation.
arts education@
NEW JERSEY PERFORMING ARTS CENTER
One Center Street
Newark, New Jersey 07102
Administration: 973 642-8989
Arts Education Hotline: 973 353-8009
schooltime@njpac.org
Writer: Lisa Vernon Sparks
Curriculum Consultant: Arthur T. Wilson
Editor: Linda Fowler
Designer: Bonnie Felt
NJPAC Guest Reader: Kira Ruth
NJPAC Teacher’s Guide Review Committee:
Laura Ingoglia
Judith Israel
Mary Lou Johnston
Amy Tenzer
Photos courtesy of DRUMLINE LIVE
Photo on page 5 courtesy of Tennessee
State University
Copyright © 2012
New Jersey Performing Arts Center
All Rights Reserved
New Jersey Performing Arts Center
William J. Marino .................................................................................................... Chairman
John Schreiber ............................................................................................. President & CEO
Sandra Bowie ....................................................................... Vice President of Arts Education
Sanaz Hojreh ......................................................... Assistant Vice President of Arts Education
Coming to NJPAC
passport
to culture
ScrapArtsMusic
Teacher’s Guide 2012–2013
Verushka Spirito .............................................................. Associate Director of Performances
Caitlin Evans Jones ................................................................. Director of In-School Programs
Faye Competello .................................................................................Director of Arts Training
Linda Fowler .................................................................. Editor of Teacher’s Resource Guides
Generous support for
SchoolTime provided,
in part, by
visit artsed.njpac.org
arts education@
NEW JERSEY PERFORMING ARTS CENTER
Find additional resources by clicking on
SchoolTime Performances or scan the QR code
displayed here.
For even more arts integration resources, please
go to Thinkfinity.org, the Verizon Foundation’s
signature digital learning platform, designed to
improve educational and literacy achievement.
8 DRUMLINE LIVE • njpac.org
ScrapArtsMusic
December 6 and 7
A performance of pulsating
percussion, performed on more than
145 mobile sculptures created from
industrial scrap metal. For grades 4-8.
Call (973) 297-5828.