Feb 15 2009
Indoor Drumline
If you have never experienced IDL (Indoor Drumline) you should. This is a unique musical feast to the ears. All percussion, IDL uses all manner of drums, including a brake drum. Yes, a brake drum from an automobile! Additionally, you will experience keyboards, guitar, xylophones, bells, chimes, cymbals, and others I am surely forgetting.
Frankie is a member of IDL at her high school. This is her second year. Last year Frankie was the dancer in the show and I attended one competition and a special family of IDLers performance of their show. This year Frankie plays the bells. To me this looks like a small double xylophone. As you know, if you are a follower of my blog, Frankie primarily plays flute and piccolo. She does play piano and this is proving to be helpful in her learning to play bells for IDL.
Valentine’s Day is a day for love and what better way to celebrate than to watch the beating of many, drums! I was in charge of the door. This is very important to the flow of the performances. Timing is critical. We were, ahead of schedule? Really, we were. The first group was a middle school group. They played for about 30 seconds, if that. There was to be a five minute break before starting with the next division, but the next school was ready and the judges allowed them to start early. From then on we were ahead of schedule by nine minutes, or the time the performers have to set up, play, and leave the floor. This made for a very relaxing day. Lulu was a band guide. So this turned out to be a girl’s only day.
Our school came in six of seven. The show is tricky and they are scheduling more practice time to be better prepared for their next competition. They have competitions every Saturday until the end of March. I plan to attend them all. These can be great fun and I get to spend time with Frankie. This is important since she plans to go away to school in the Fall, if finances allow.
See if your local high school, or college, has an IDL group. If so, then support the school and attend a show. And, for those still curious about IDL, check out this video:
