- What connects ancient
African drum circles to this Coachella performance by Beyonce? And what do historically black
colleges and universities have to do with it? If you've seen the 2002 film drum line, you know this electric
feeling all too well. From hip hop inspired beats
to innovative dance routines, black colleges have been
laying down classic beats and grooves for years that
set them apart from the rest. Today, we're gonna take
a look at the roots of HBCU drum lines and find out why this percussive
party is so entertaining. (drum rattling) When the movie "Drumline" came
out, I was in seventh grade, And when the school had
went on a field trip, but my class wasn't going, I didn't go. I was like, wait, I'm the
drummer though, in the school. I mean, you see, in this movie though, I end up seeing a movie
three times in the theater. That's the one movie that don't nobody wanna watch with me. 'Cause I'ma say every single word. - I was in eighth grade when
the movie "Drumline" came out, I went to Chapel Hill Middle School. Chapel Hill Middle School is the feeder of Southwest DeKalb High School, which is the actual band for
the Atlanta AT&T Drumline, where they were actually
students that got paid all the playing parts. All the cadences were parts of the Southwest DeKalb Band Program. - That was a high school band? - That was a high school band. - To understand how we got here, we have to take a look at the
origin of black marching bands as a whole. Throughout America's military history many African-Americans were
drafted into the military without property of career
or a formal education. The union used these black
soldiers to drum up support for the war and inspire people to enlist. Groups of smaller military bands would travel to community
events, to play patriotic music. They performed for malicious to inspire them for the perils of war. Francis Johnson was a
leader amongst these men and laid groundwork for
black military musicians. He is the first African-American
to have his composition published as sheet music. In 1837, he was also the first
African-American musician to tour in Europe. During the civil war, there were around 185,000
black men enlisted when the war ended, many
uneducated black musicians were left with nowhere to go. So they kept doing what they
knew how to do to get by. Minstrel brass bands
popped up to play music to move and entertain the crowd. Minstrelsy is a controversial
performance form where stereotypically African attributes are emphasized for entertainment. This blatantly racist form of performance was often the only way black musicians could earn any type of living. By the time World War I came around groups like the Harlem
Hellfighters had emerged. Officially known as the
369th infantry regiment. They mainly consisted of
black soldiers and recruits from Puerto Rico. The Hellfighters were well-known
for their military band led by James Reese Europe. The band not only performed in battle, but also toured Europe,
playing jazz and ragtime tunes. During the war, the Hellfighters
helped introduce Europe to black American music. Despite the cultural importance, the Harlem Hellfighters
spent the most time in continuous combat in
any other American regimen. They suffered the most casualties too. But where did school
marching bands come from? For that we have to go back
to after the civil war, after emancipation schools
for African-Americans were established in the south. Today, these institutions are called HBCU or Historically Black
Colleges and Universities. In the south the music
culture is so prevalent. It's so thick. It's still strong it's
like kids can grow up, going to see a battle of the bands and being influenced by that. Why do HBCU play such a big
role in marching band culture? - The history of marching
band is very militant is very straight forward, it's commands. The military bands were
there to help the military. We've got to give credit to
Dr. William Foster at Florida, A&M really who kind of changed
the way HBCU bands appear and how they perform. And it gives us a sense of belonging. (trumpet buzzing) We hear our music. We produce our music, but to put it on a field
with live instruments gives us that seasoning that a lot of other bands cannot give. - Music directors like WC
Handy, and Dr. William P. Foster shaped the early band sound by incorporating African music traditions. Because of segregation these bands developed independently and created a unique sound centered and African-American culture. There are three primary
styles of marching bands, military, corps and show style. The style we're talking about today, and the one most often used
by HBCU bands is show style also sometimes called traditional. Show style band tradition
is rooted in the foundations of African-American music
like blues and jazz. Syncopation is the concept of this placing the stress notes in music. For example, Mary had a
little lamb is stressed in a classical European
approach with no syncopation. Whereas something like this cadence has distressed on the off beats. (drum rattling) Call and response is the
idea of musical conversation. You play something and I
play back in response to you. This comes from traditional
African drumming circles, where the music was improvised
and felt as a push and pull between the players. African vocality is everything
you've heard in r&b, rap, jazz, and blues, all the
runs, the rhythmic speech, the vocal effects. This can even be felt on a
drum line with no singing through chance and call outs. (drum rattling)
(scat singing) HBCU drum lines are also unique with their style of composition. If we look at the corp
style, percussion battery, only three instruments are
represented, snare drum, bass drum and multi-tom's
also referred to as tenors. The additional tenor drum adds for a driving
rapid fire middle voice, and they use marching symbols
to add some top end flair, both audibly and visually. You may have also noticed that the equipment used is different. Corp style and modern military drum lines use rigid harnesses that make carrying and playing the drum much easier. HBCU drum lines, opt to
use straps and slings for an increased range of motion, letting them incorporate dances and physical stunts into their plane. One staple of HBCU bands is a dance routine called the breakdown. Dr. William Foster of FAMU's Marching 100 laid the groundwork for the breakdown. The breakdown is a
special part of the show where the band dances and plays a mashup of current popular music. Today, HBCU drum lines are
thriving with dedicated events like the Honda Battle of the Bands, the National Battle of the
Bands and other regional events. HBCU drum lines have even
influenced pop music. So Beyonce, she pretty much raised me like the first CD I ever
bought with my own money was writings on the wall. But what was your reaction when
Beyonce reached out to you? - (chuckles) That's a whole story. I'ma try to condense it. I quit my corporate job in February, 2018. I wasn't really being fulfilled. So a month later I get
a call from Don Roberts, who is the owner and CEO of Drumline Live and he says, "Hey, I have an opportunity. "You have to leave for two months, "but it's paid it's
for a very big artists. "I cannot tell you who
it is, but I promise you, "it will be worth it." I said to my homeboy, I'm like, hey man, you got that call from Don. He's like, "Yeah, I got the call." I was like, I haven't heard anything. Do you know anything about it? And he's like, "Man, all I
know is for being Beyonce." I say who? He was like, "Yeah, it's for Beyonce." I said, "Huh?" I was like, "Okay." - I have like rehearsal
footage in my mind to Beyonce. What was the energy like? What was the vibe like? - Honestly speaking truly and honest, it felt like band
practice every single day. - Like Beyonce is legendary
Coachella performance, other pop stars like Lil NAS
X have incorporated HBCU bands in their art. Right now there are 107
HBC use out of the nations, approximately 5,300 universities. The culture of the HBCU
drum line goes hand in hand with the plights of
African-Americans today. The constant fight to be
relevant when your slice of pie is the smallest has pushed these groups to create something and refined
much like jazz in its day, Drumline is a cultural phenomenon. (drum rattling) Before you go, I wanna tell you about
a new documentary series on PBS voices, American
veteran, keep it close. Each episode tells the story
of a US military veteran and a special object they have
from their time in service, a vial of lip gloss, a small
stone, even a microphone, check it out at the
link in our description and let them know that
Sound Field sent you. One more thing, we wanna invite you to take
the PBS digital studios, annual audience survey that helps us a lot if Sound Feel fans participate. You even get to vote
on potential new shows. There's a link in the description below. And if you have a few minutes, we will love your input, thanks.
