How to Use American Sign Language in Drumline Rehearsals (While They’re Playing)
How to Use American Sign Language to Teach Drumline (While They’re Playing)
Drumlines are loud. That is not a complaint. It is the job. Between the battery, front ensemble, amplified instruments, and the general volume of a rehearsal environment, a drumline can create an enormous amount of sound. That is exactly what makes trying to communicate with performers during a rep so difficult.
Yelling instructions over the ensemble may seem like the obvious solution, but it is rarely an efficient one. Many performers simply cannot hear the instructor clearly. The students who do hear the instruction may have to shift their attention away from what they are playing, which can create its own problems. Even when everyone hears the words, there is always the possibility that the instruction is misunderstood or only partially understood.
The result is often the same. The music stops, the instructor repeats the instruction, the performers ask for clarification, and another rep begins. Valuable rehearsal time disappears while everyone tries to communicate through a wall of sound.
There is another option: American Sign Language, or ASL.
Using hand signals and signs during rehearsal can provide a way for instructors and performers to communicate in real time without requiring anyone to shout over the ensemble. A visual cue can be seen even when the drumline is playing at full volume. Instead of stopping the music to explain something verbally, an instructor can communicate certain directions while the performers continue playing.
This can be particularly useful for simple, repeatable instructions. Tempo changes, section cues, stops, dynamics, entrances, repetitions, and other common rehearsal directions can potentially be communicated visually once the ensemble understands the system being used.
The key is consistency. The goal is not to randomly wave your hands at a drumline and hope someone figures out what you mean. The instructor and performers need to establish a common vocabulary of signs and understand exactly what each signal means. Once that vocabulary is familiar, communication becomes much faster and less disruptive.
There is also an important distinction between using ASL as a complete language and using selected ASL signs or visual signals as part of a rehearsal communication system. An instructor does not need to be fluent in ASL to recognize the value of visual communication, but anyone incorporating actual ASL signs should make an effort to learn and use them accurately and respectfully.
For drumline instructors, the practical advantage is simple. You can communicate without competing with the music.
Instead of yelling louder, stopping the rep, and explaining the same instruction again, you can establish a visual language that allows the rehearsal to keep moving. The drumline can stay focused on playing while the instructor communicates from outside the sound.
Drumlines are supposed to be loud. The solution is not necessarily to make the instructor louder. Sometimes the better solution is to stop using sound to communicate in the first place.
Why ASL Works for Drumline Rehearsal
Visual communication solves a problem that audio communication simply cannot. When a drumline is playing, the performers' ears are already occupied with timing, balance, ensemble awareness, and everything else happening in the music. Adding shouted instructions to that environment creates another competing source of sound.
Their eyes, however, are still available.
This is especially relevant in marching environments, where visual awareness is already an important part of performance quality. Performers are expected to maintain awareness of their surroundings, follow visual information, and respond to visual cues. Adding a consistent visual communication system to that environment is a natural extension of skills they are already developing.
Using ASL and other standardized visual cues can provide several practical advantages:
Real-time communication during reps
Less stopping and resetting
Greater player focus and accountability
Clear, repeatable instructions
Less confusion caused by competing audio
The basic concept is not new. If you have ever watched a construction crew guide a crane operator, you have already seen visual communication in action. When the environment is too loud for verbal communication to be reliable, visual language takes over.
Drumline instructors already use hand signals for this exact reason. The problem is that those signals are often developed informally. One instructor might use a particular motion to mean "stop," while another uses something completely different. Even within the same program, signals can become improvised, inconsistent, or difficult for performers to interpret from a distance.
A standardized system provides a better foundation.
ASL offers an established visual language with recognizable signs and consistent meanings. When appropriate ASL signs are incorporated into a rehearsal communication system, instructors can create a vocabulary that performers learn and recognize over time. The objective is not to make rehearsal more complicated. It is to make communication more predictable.
That predictability matters. A visual cue should not require the performer to stop playing and wonder what the instructor is trying to communicate. The meaning should already be understood. Once the vocabulary becomes familiar, the signal can function almost like a musical cue.
There is also an accountability benefit. If a performer can clearly see an instruction during a rep, there is less opportunity for the classic "I couldn't hear you" problem. The communication is visible, immediate, and repeatable.
Of course, ASL should not be treated as a collection of arbitrary hand gestures. If you are using actual American Sign Language, learn the signs correctly and understand that ASL is a complete language with its own grammar and cultural context. A rehearsal system that incorporates ASL should use it thoughtfully rather than simply borrowing gestures because they look convenient.
The larger principle is straightforward: when the environment makes audio communication unreliable, use visual communication instead.
Drumlines have already mastered the loud part. Instructors do not need to compete with them. They need a better way to be heard without making a sound.
Build on What You Already Do
You are probably already using ASL without realizing it.
“Think”
Most instructors point to their temple to signal awareness or anticipation.
That is already the correct ASL sign for think.
Instead of yelling “THINK AHEAD” or “REMEMBER THE CHANGE” over the ensemble, this reinforces awareness and responsibility. Players learn to stay mentally ahead of the music instead of reacting late.
Fix Common Miscommunication
Some common hand signals in drumline culture are actually misleading.
Many instructors use a circular motion to indicate “faster.”
In a drumline context, that creates confusion. Are you telling us that we’re rushing? Or maybe you’re saying we’re slowing down and need to go faster. Or, maybe you just want the center snare to tap off the next tempo.
Better Options
Use signs that match your actual intent:
Rushing/Too Fast for when performers are playing ahead of the beat
Dragging/Too Slow for when performers are playing behind the beat
Next for taking the next tempo for a warmup, or even the next exercise/assignment
This removes guesswork and gives your performers clear direction instantly.
Core ASL Signs for Drumline Rehearsal
Below is a practical set of high-value signs that translate directly to marching percussion instruction. These are easy to learn and become second nature with repetition.
You can link each of these to your own video demonstrations.
Timing and Ensemble
Go
Stop
Early (played early, or entered too soon)
Late (played late, or entered too late)
Rushing (see above example)
Slow (see above example)
Awareness and Focus
Think (see above example)
Look
Listen
Hold On
Dynamics and Sound Quality
Loud / Louder (Can combine with you pointing upward)
Quiet / Quieter
Open (great for rolls and diddles when they’re commonly crushed)
Rehearsal Flow
Next (see above example)
Yes
No
Sorry (you will all use this one more than you think!)
How to Implement This With Your Drumline
Do not overcomplicate this. Start small.
You do not need to teach your drumline an entire visual language before you can begin using hand signals effectively. Pick a few basic signs that solve the most common communication problems in your rehearsals.
Choose about five basic signs that you can use consistently during every rehearsal.
Demonstrate them clearly beforehand. Start with signs that are relatively intuitive and require minimal explanation.
Use them consistently during playing time. The more consistently players see the same sign used for the same instruction, the faster they will recognize it.
Let repetition do the teaching. You do not need to stop rehearsal every time you introduce a signal. Players will learn the system through repeated use.
Within a week, most groups should begin responding to the signals without needing an explanation every time. Within a month, the system can become a normal part of your ensemble culture.
And the benefits extend beyond what happens during the rep.
Imagine you are standing in the press box after a run. The drumline wants to know whether they were rushing, but you do not have a microphone and you do not want to stop rehearsal just to walk down and explain it.
You can communicate with them visually.
A simple, established signal can tell them exactly what they need to know without shouting, without a microphone, and without disrupting the rehearsal. They can acknowledge the message and immediately move on to the next rep.
That is the real advantage of a visual communication system. It does not have to replace verbal instruction. It simply gives you another way to communicate when sound is working against you.
Start with five signs. Use them consistently. Let the ensemble learn them through repetition.
Once everyone realizes how much faster rehearsal becomes, adding more signals becomes much easier.
The Real Advantage
Visual communication is not simply a matter of convenience. It can change how a drumline rehearsal is structured by allowing instructors to communicate with performers without constantly stopping the ensemble. Players can remain engaged during reps while instructors provide timely feedback and direction. This can help reduce unnecessary resets, improve rehearsal efficiency, and give performers more opportunities to practice the material.
A consistent system of visual communication can also encourage greater visual awareness within the ensemble. Because marching percussion already requires performers to respond to visual information and maintain awareness of their surroundings, incorporating clear visual cues into rehearsal can complement those existing skills.
The practical benefit is simple: more reps and less talking between reps. Instead of stopping the battery to communicate every correction or instruction, instructors can use established visual signals whenever appropriate. This keeps the rehearsal moving and allows more of the available rehearsal time to be spent actually playing.
Drumlines are loud, and that is part of what makes them effective. The challenge is that verbal communication becomes difficult when the ensemble is playing at full volume. Visual communication provides another way to deliver information when performers cannot reliably hear the instructor. Rather than trying to compete with the sound of the battery, instructors can use a communication method designed to work in that environment.
Final Thought
You are working in one of the loudest musical environments that exists, so relying entirely on sound for communication is not always practical. Visual communication provides an effective alternative that allows instructors to communicate with performers while the ensemble is playing. By teaching students to recognize consistent visual cues, you can create a rehearsal environment where communication does not always require stopping the music or raising your voice.
The goal is not to eliminate verbal communication. It is to give your drumline another reliable way to receive information when sound is competing with the rehearsal. With a well-established system of visual cues, instructors can communicate important directions and feedback from different locations on the field without needing a microphone or interrupting the ensemble. Over time, those visual signals can become a natural part of your rehearsal process and help make communication faster, clearer, and more consistent.
Use these signs with my Drumline Rehearsal System: The Performance Ready Method!
About the Author
Patrick Blakley is a percussion educator, author, adjudicator, and entrepreneur specializing in marching percussion and drumline education. He is the creator of DrumPacket.com, DrumlineWarmups.com, DrumAudit.com, DrumsetGrooves.com, and SyracuseDrums.com. His educational materials and performance audio edits through CompetitiveMusic.com are used by hundreds of schools and programs across the United States and beyond. He is the author of Quadratics: The Tenor Drum Equation, The Field Percussion User Manual, and other instructional music books. Read more about him by clicking here!
