Rolla High School Drummer Dictionary

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2ND BASS: The drum no one in their right mind can play right; generally guessing and faking it sounds right.

3RD BASS: See 2nd Bass.

5/4 TIME: What the Fuck!!

A

ATTENTION: Something drummers lack. Standing still while sticking out your butt. Can only talk in whispers so that the directors can’t hear you.

B

BABY BASS: The drum for the smallest drummer; requires the best rookie in the line to play.

BAND PARENTS: The only parents that a band fag sees between July and December. The only reason the band is held together. Always good for money. Affectionately called Mama and Papa Last-Name (Ex: Mama Neis).

BAND FAG: Also known as band nerds, band freaks, band geeks. A person who is so obsessed with band that they wouldn't dream of being late for band, practice their music sometimes not all the time, and has no real life. They're nice people, except for being insane.

BASS DRUMS: A reason to make jokes about the Energizer bunny.

BASS DRUM PLAYERS: People who tape their music to their drum so they won't have to memorize anything.

BASS GUITAR: The instrument that makes the band funky.

BASS LINE: The epitome of boredom.

BRAIN FART: A mistake involving an escape of gaseous substances from the head usually in conjunction with missing a set. normally happens to the center snare.

BROKEN CHORD: The reason you can't hear the guitar.

BUS: 1. A good way to get to know someone (nudge, nudge, wink, wink, if you know what I mean!). 2. Also a place where the Drumline plays Truth or Dare and Hypothetical. 3. The only way to see a pigeon at 65 MPH. 4. Where you never, ever, EVER sing. 5. Where “shingling” happens.

BUS SEAT: A favorite spot for body-stuffing (Our current record is 10.)

C

CADENCE: A way of making the crowd forget the parade march the band just played that impresses people. Good time for horn flashes.

CARRIER: A harness used to carry a drum. Very painful to a drummer's shoulders. Drummers scare each other by hitting one another's carriers with their sticks.

CENTER SNARE: The leader of the snares whose main requirement for the job is to not be able to hold a steady tempo.

CIRCLE: A closed shape with definite corners and edges.

CHRONIC PLAYING SYNDROME (C.P.S): There's no cure. (Drummers and Trumpet players have this.)

CRAB STEPPING: Wheeeee! Ouch! My ankle!

CUT TIME: When everyone else is playing twice as fast as you are.

CYMBAL: A percussion instrument to be dropped while the band plays pianissimo.

D

DEATH MARCH: The direct result of a Christmas parade being marched slowly to a fast song.

DENNY’S: Open-All-Night restaurant chain favored by band. A place to go to drink coffee and to talk to other band geeks after a football game.

DIAGONAL LINE: Like a straight line except impossible to make; theoretically it should be as easy as making a straight line but hey, we're talking about wind players here.

DR. BEAT: A form of punishment so vile it's not even used in hell and is prohibited by the eighth amendment.

DR. PEPPER: Also known is Dr. Thunder; a quick and legal high.

DRESS LEFT/RIGHT/CENTER: A wonderful way to break your neck.

DRILL: Pages that show what a form is supposed to look like. Should be burned at year’s end.

DRILL-DOWN: When the band gets to follow long sets of commands, just to see who can do it, in an attempt at fun.

DRUM: Devices designed to be hit by sticks to make LOUD noise and annoy the rest of the band. Designed to play so loud that none of the other band members can hear their mistakes.

DRUM CABINET: What we pitifully use to attempt to store all of our concert equipment; falling apart as we speak.

DRUM CORPS: Very similar to a marching band, except for a couple of differences: 1. They’re good. 2. No woodwinds. Coincidence?

DRUMLINE: The people hitting the drums (or each other) with sticks in time with each other, but either a half beat earlier or later than the band and one beat from the pit.

DRUMLINE SECTION LEADER: In our band someone that has been a percussionist for one semester, and her only duty is to get everyone together. (Calling-tree) Now it has gone back to a true percussionist. Order has been restored.

DRUMLINE SHIRT: Similar to the band shirt, only funnier. Never becomes a paint shirt.

DRUMLINE’S SHRUB: Shrubs located near the end of the football field where drum line members go after they utter the all-important meaning-of-life phrase: "I gotta go..." It has now been destroyed by certain bastards.

DYNAMICS: Something trumpet players never worry about. And something drummers have to worry about.

E

EARLY: To never be. Reasoning: To be early is to be on time, while to be on time is to be late, but to be late is to never be. Following this through, to be early is to never be.

ENERGY: Something no one has after band camp; drumline still manages to play warm ups despite this fact.

F

FACIAL EXPRESSIONS: Something a good drumline never has; generally a stupid smile from the flag corps.

FULL UNIFORM: A form of torture consisting of overall pants with crotches to the knees, wool jackets, space cowboy hats (but not for da pit), gloves and gauntlets (the drumline doesn't wear these: "I'm to sexy for my gauntlets."), shiny shiny capes with missing sequins, and gaudy shoes.

G

GONG: A loud, large cymbal-like device. It is the goal of all good percussionists to break or crack this instrument in any way possible. It makes all the people who use it think they're "turning Japanese."

GRADUATED BAND FAG: Someone who no longer attends the high school, but always come back to torture the other band members.

H

HARASSING: Something once done to newbies; Seniors love doing this to them.

HELL: Inferno, early AM rehearsals, having to wear uniforms in 90 degree weather. What Nellum damns people to.

I
J
K
L
M

MALLET: An offensive weapon for the pit. During the course of the year, one mallet from each pair goes missing.

MONTY PYTHON AND THE HOLY GRAIL: The drumline's favorite movie of all time; our second Bible.

N
O

OLD DRUM HEADS: Any head busted that we use for our frisbee game.

P

PERCUSSION: The group of instruments hit by mallets or sticks that keep some beat or another.

PERCUSSIONIST: Someone who can't blow into an instrument and push keys at the same time. Surprisingly, they have no trouble talking while banging sticks on something. They lurk in the back of the band room and play weird instruments that most people wouldn’t touch. (Exception to the rule is the “VIBRASLAP”)

PIECE OF CRAP: The drumline's most used phrase.

PIT: Percussion instruments that have pitches (like a piano) that play either half a beat earlier or later than the band, opposite of the drumline.

PIT SECTION LEADER: The leader of the pit, that just does what the other drumline section leaders tell him to do.

Q

QUADS: The person who generally can't march; always speeding up the drumline making for major fits.

QUINTS: See Quads.

R
S

SHUT-UP: The most common phrase that the drumline hears.

SHINGLE: How to use seniority to get shotgun. (Ex: Freshman says "Shotgun!" Senior says "Shingles!" Senior gets shotgun.)

SNARES: The drummers that act like they know everything but usually don't.

SPOCK DRUM: The smallest drum on the quints, you can hear it a mile away. “Live long and prosper!” said the little drum.

SPRINKLERS: An offensive tackler of pit and color guard.

STICK WADDLE: This is when center snare (“Stick”) runs across the field with his snare between his legs.

STICK BAG: The trash can of the drumline. A bag that we can put “Stick” into.

STRAIGHT LINE: The curviest thing in the world.

T

TENOR HEADS: Heads that will only last a week from the Stevo playing on them.

U
V
W

WARM UPS: Things drummers use to make other band members mad, upset, and unable to talk or hear anything.

WIND CHIMES: The "DEVIL" instrument. Need we say more?

X

XYLOPHONE: The heaviest piece of crap in the pit; an instrument for percussionists who can actually tell the difference between one note and another. Plus one of three altars of the drumline.

Y

YOUR BUTT: What gets chewed (though not literally) when you mess up during a major performance.

Z

ZIG-ZAG: The closest way to travel between two points; that constitutes marching over cars, people, small bushes, wind instruments, etc while returning to the band room.

ZZZ: The sound you hear on the bus ride home.

This is messed up!!