Have you ever been to a game or a pep rally at Paint Branch and heard a loud but rhythmic noise coming from the bleachers?

Well, if you have you’ve heard the heartbeat of the marching band, the #1 crew in the Paint Branch land, the Drumline.

Whenever the drums are around, the fans are ready to be involved. Anyone who has spent time in the stands during a football or basketball game knows that once the drumline starts, so too do the crowd chants such as “AWW, PB WHAT?!!” and “PB, YOU KNOW!!” These catchy phrases ring through the crowd as the drumline draws enthusiastic behavior out of the students.

The Drumline is a group of 8 or more people who play a variety of percussion instruments, including snare, tenors, bass drum and cymbals. Each member is part of a marching ensemble, but the drumline are their own section.

During the football season, they practice with the marching band for competitions, parades and half-time shows, which helps them prep for Friday games. After football season ends, so does the marching band season, so the drumline transitions to basketball, where they become an indoor drumline. As for their role at football and basketball games, the key is to bring enthusiasm to the crowd.

“The drumline contributes tremendously to the band in order to keep the volume and tempo under control,” says Mr. Kirchhoff, the head of the Music Department at Paint Branch High School.

“Indoor drumline is in the winter season.” says Mr. Kirchhoff. “When I came here 8 years ago, I wanted to help the drumline to prepare for the next season so that the fall marching band would be stronger.”

While Mr. Kirchhoff is involved with the drumline all year in some capacity, he notes that “Ms. Dorothy Lee, a teacher at Benjamin Banneker Middle School, runs the Drumline in the winter/spring season.”

“When we do our regular rehearsals, we focus on dynamics and tone,” says Ms. Lee. She also reviews any mistakes in the set so that, during competition day, she can correct any mistakes. “I don’t want to stress out the students, or else they’ll be freaking out over it.”

“Being in the drumline is like being in a family. We’re always together, we’re always working hard to build a better performance, and we make sure to have fun and keep the tradition going,” says Peter Franklin, who has been the section leader for Drumline this year.

The Drumline is open to anyone in the school, which includes people who haven’t been in a music class but are musically talented. So if you’re interested in joining the Drumline in the fall of 2015, talk to Mr. Kirchhoff in room 1115.