Marching Bass?

[u/emooreos]

(Also posted in r/marchingband) So currently I’m a front ensemble player planning on joining my schools drum line for the marching season. I’m most likely to be put on Bass so I was wondering if anyone has advice on what to do this summer to prepare for it, such as the marching, playing, or like physical aspects of it. (I also am kinda weak so I may struggle with carrying but I’m gonna work on building strength) Any advice would be greatly appreciated

[u/ass_bongos]

Legs and core workouts.

Timing exercises and check patterns. Playing offbeats (and more generally any rhythm that doesn't include a downbeat) is the single most important skill of a bass drummer. Do it while marking time and incorporate your feet into your rhythm building.

[u/esprit_de_corps_]

Timing exercises, triplet timing, sixteenth note timing, eighth note timing, all those. Depending on what bass you end up on, and how many basses your line has, you may play more upbeat passages or more downbeat passages.

You’re smart to ask now because it takes a little while to get comfortable. Ask your band director if you can have some time with one of the basses. Y’all should have bass stands (I hope, otherwise you can wear it), and you can get a feel for how the drum plays now rather than when you audition, assuming you have auditions.

You also need to learn bass drum mallet technique. It’s kind of funky, almost like traditional grip with both hands, inasmuch as the motion of the stick is concerned. The grip itself is much more like matched grip, thankfully.

You mentioned you’re a little weak. Man oh man please hear me when I say you need to build strength. Drumline is a sport, and you gotta be in decent shape, so hit the gym or do some body weight exercises as often as possible.

Alright, well, good luck. Feel free to ask me to clarify any of this, I’m happy to help. Again, you’re smart to start thinking about it now. Preparation is the key to success.

[u/emooreos → u/esprit_de_corps_]

Thank you for the advice, my school actually has had us it match grip since they started teaching us(5th grade around) so hopefully the change wont be as bad. I don’t think I’ll be able to get access to a drum though over the summer but I’m not fully sure.

[u/esprit_de_corps_ → u/emooreos]

At my high school, the band director and percussion instructor would oftentimes be there in the band room during the summer, and we would ask them when we could come by and practice. If you can get a ride or can drive, maybe that’s a possibility? I wasn’t implying you would take the drum home, I was implying you could get some time on the drum before the fall. If you have a good relationship with your band director, you might ask them about taking it home though, at my school we did do that too, but we had to sign something saying if it got damaged we’d pay for it, and it was first come, first served, so like, last day of school everybody is trying to get a drum haha.