Drumline

The Muscatine High School is led by Mr. O'Shaughnessy. There are limited spots on the drumline each year, playing in one of these spots requires you to pass an audition that is organized by Mr. O'Shaughnessy. 

The available spots each year are: 3-5 Snares, 2-3 Quads, 4-5 Bass Drums

Members of the drumline are expected to take the Percussion Ensemble class that is 7th period; taking this class allows you to be exempt from participating in Concert Band, although you are allowed to participate in both if you choose to do so and your schedule allows it.

Audition Information for the 25'-26' Season

There will be two clinics led by Mr. O'Shaughnessy that take place prior to auditions. This clinics will meet in the MHS Band Room, and will consist of students getting a chance to play on the drum(s) they are planning on auditioning on, receiving instruction from Mr. O'Shaughnessy regarding technique, and getting direct-feedback on what each student should be working on to become a better marching percussionist. The music that is played at these clinics is the audition music that can be found below. Though these clinics are not required they are highly recommended. 

Below is the dates of the two drumline clinics:

1) Thursday, May 8th (4:00 - 5:30PM) - MHS Band Room

2) Thursday, May 15th (4:00 - 5:30PM) - MHS Band Room

Following the clinics will be a week in which auditions are conducted. Auditions will be in-person and take place in 15-minute time slots. Prospective members who already attend MHS will audition during their regularly scheduled lesson time. Prospective members who do not currently attend MHS will sign up for a 15-minute time slot between 4:00 and 5:00PM on the available dates. To sign up for one of these time slots you must email Mr. O'Shaughnessy the date and time you intend to audition, your audition slot is not set until Mr. O'Shaughnessy has emailed you back confirming when your audition is. (Mr. O'Shaughnessy's email address: john.oshaughnessy@mcsdonline.org )

Below is the dates of the auditions:

Prospective Members already in High School will audition during school between Monday, May 19th and Friday, May 23rd

For prospective members not currently attending MHS you will request a 15 minute time slot within one of the below dates/times:

1) Thursday, May 22nd (4:00 - 5:00 PM) - MHS Band Room

1) Friday, May 23rd (4:00 - 5:00 PM) - MHS Band Room

MHS Drumline Audition Materials

The MHS Drumline Audition materials consist of the 5 warm-ups that MHS Drumline members will be practicing throughout the season. These warm-ups hit on all of the necessary fundamentals that drumline members need to continuosly be developing throughout their career. It is not an expectation for these to be memorized for the clincs/auditions, however these should all be memorized by the time we hit band camp in August... if you are practicing them as often as you should be (every day) then memorizing them will often come naturally.

Below is the audition material for each drum 

Please note each material consists of 5 different warm-ups (5 pages in total):

        Snare Drum Audition:                                                      Quads Audition Music:                                              Bass Drum Audition Music:

Educational Videos Regarding Marching Percussion

Below you will find educational videos regarding techniques and fundamentals that are essential to marching percussion. It is HIGHLY recommended that you watch these videos in there integrity and focus on the concepts that are presented. In order for a drumline to be succesful, all members must be unified both with their sound and visually... this requires a focus and dedication to things such as stick heights, how we mark time, and the way we set up our metronome when we practice. When practicing the above materials, you must ALWAYS use a metronome, and it is very important to practice in front of a mirror as much as possible - practicing without these tools will likely develop bad techniques, improper muscle-memory, and will ultimately be counter-productive.