When you have a bad run-through or don't win best percussion at a competition. Or when that one section of music isn't clean, or if a first year back talks, or when someone breaks set.

How do you teach them a lesson? We either run around the outside of the baseball field, run around the outside of the baseball field and around the outside of the track, or do the Chinese Thinking Torture.

We also Humiliate as much as possible during practices.

Thats pretty harsh, how well does that work on your kids?

Well...I'm not really sure what to think about that post, but I certainly hope that it wasn't serious...I mean, don't get me wrong, there is definately a certain amount of DISCIPLINE (note the wrong spelling in the thread name) and humiliation that occurs, however I do believe that there is a certain mixture of the three that must be achieved by the staff to maintain control of the unit.

If all you ever do is discipline your students and humiliate them in front of the group, nothing positive is left to come of this...I believe that you are missing a very important quality to your teaching premise. That quality is praise...I hear nothing about you telling your students when something is done well...I feel that if this aspect of your teaching is lacking, then the students will not respond to your "Punishment" as well as you might think. Again, I do believe that discipline, punishment, and humiliation tactics work, however, ONLY IN MODERATION. Just my thoughts...take them how you please...but I do know that my methods are proven...

Dog pile, or de pants them, nothing big but enough to make them learn

Are you guys living in the 15th century or something? Pants them...I guess thats a good technique if your name is Michael Jackson, but for civilized people, (yes, I am saying Michael Jackson is not civilized) there are plenty of other ways to discipline your students or fellow line members...

lol, yea there is more better ways but i live with a very goofy drumline. we only get serious when its game time and practice..

other displine methods we use are:
"The push" (when someone gets behind them and duck as the other push)

the "wheres my sticks?" trick (self explanatory, hey if you cant play right, why play at all)

make them play the show ALONE during practice

make them pack all the drums for the away games

make them slap a randoms girl butt , if they refused they get dog piled


and what ever else we can think of when they do somthign wrong...

Discipline should be achieved at camp. Why does the military have boot camp? Band camp is for the same reason: To break you down, then build you back up. Unfortunately, that is not how most high school camps work.

"the push" was more appropriately called "cow tipping" back in my freshman year of high school

...then we got serious, that sort of tomfoolery pretty much dissipated and we got to be a pretty competitive percussion section. Its amazing what maturity can do.


Back to the topic... these three are somewhat similar, but you should distinguish them.

Discipline - warranted by small misconduct (not being set, slight talking over you), significantly poor performance errors (players talent/skill must be taken into consideration), lack of focus (after repeating the same exercise a couple times, the hands freeze and the line falls apart or a player starts to play a different section, not paying attention to tap offs).
Often characterized by physical or mental exercises. Running, tracking, etc.

Punishment - not warranted because of performance errors, but because of conduct (missing practice, taking too long on a water break, mass talking on the field, roughhousing a little too far). In the parameters of a school district, things like fights between members have their own procedural process on reporting and consequences, so thats 'out of jurisdiction' if you will.
Things like cutting time out of breaks or privileges, making a player sit on the sideline for a performance, strong verbal lecture, and in some extreme cases: dismissing a player from the program completely (generally as a result of violating a part of the school district's rules or the highest standing student conduct defined by the band program).

Humiliation - generally should not be used much, at all. Small individual or ensemble ticks. Usually a joke made at the expense of the person/people that ticked.
"Do you think the grass is going to grow right in front of your eyes, do a little dance and tell you where to go? Stop looking at the ground!" or "theres three of you, yet it sounds like 30."
In general it is light humor but could sometimes mean pointing out a consistent tick and "spotlighting" it to everyone in the section or ensemble to get the peer pressure effect in. Sometimes it works, but usually, when the player is in that bad of shape, they need personal help or do not care at about achieving a higher level at all.


Don't be Seargant Hartman. This is not boot camp. Its a fun activity and kids just may enjoy it if they're not worried about ticking all the time.

First of all, don't worry about winning competitions. All it is, is someones opinion. If I were to play a rock group...chances are someone may like it and someone may hate it. Just like in drumline, you may find this hard to believe BUT, judge scores are not based upon clean beats all the time.... As a matter of fact the judge (if in the box) can mostly only hear the exposed parts.
The drumline I teach... well, one week they scored a 59 and the next week an 89... 30 points in one week and the shows were about the same...Is this possible for a line to actually become 30 points cleaner in one week? NO.
Go out, have fun and just drum. Be happy about what you did not the field and don't let a number that is announced 4 hours later change that feeling. If you are going to believe in scores at one show, you have to believe them at every show win or loose.

To My Line, Winning Is everything.. But ofcourse fun must be addded in. But then again, Is winning Not fun?? Discipline is a major part of our line and me as the section leader must take charge. The way it works is If the Line is Slacking The drum instructor yells at me and in return I yell at them. Push Ups Are the main means of discipline. Next come Squats without drums, squats with drums on, if none of that works, doing leg lifts and then running around the school always works.

p.s can some one please message me explining: The Chinese Thinking Tortue and "the push" or "cow-tipping"?? Thanks

The Chinese Thinking Torture:

1) Lay on your stomach
2) Lift up using your toes and supporting your head with semi-closed fist.