The style and priorities of our percussion section...
	Our section (and band) is distinctly 'corps- style'. This means that our ultimate objective would be to be like a drum and bugle corps such as the Cavaliers, Cadets, Phantom Regiment or the Blue Devils. Obviously, as a Tulsa Public School band, we have limitations. This does NOT mean that we should abandon the goal of perfection. Being corps- style, this means that we achieve a better show by ingraining certain fundamentals. The front ensemble ingrains fundamentals that include scales, arpeggios, four mallet technique, and so on. The battery ingrains fundamentals that incorporate rudiments, bass split tech, and the like. Both groups should be very concerned with the way they grip their mallets and play on their instruments (stroke). All of these things will be in our show. There is no substitute for time spent on the instrument after the program of fundamentals is established. Muscle memory must be achieved, and that is only obtained by repetition. Our competition (and we ARE and competitive group) is schools like Broken Arrow, Union, Bartlesville, Ponca City, Edmond, Moore, Mustang, and Jenks. We do NOT compare ourselves with other Tulsa Public Schools and do not emulate them. They are in a completely different world and not competitive in our 'world'. Finally, this is a percussion section, not a drumline. As long as I am the instructor of percussion, you will receive as balanced an education as possible. The goal is that everyone is proficient on all percussion instruments as well as having the intellectual understanding of music theory, at least at the basic level. Jeffrey D. Wheeler Instructor of Percussion Tulsa Memorial Senior High School