Front ensemble
the stationary percussion section in a marching band or drum corps
In a marching band, drum and bugle corps, or indoor percussion ensemble, the front ensemble or pit is the stationary percussion ensemble. This ensemble is typically placed in front of the football field, though some designers may use atypical layouts (such as having the front ensemble split into pods on the field). Some high school marching bands opt not to march any percussion instruments but instead have a "full" front ensemble.
Originally, the front ensemble consisted of keyboard percussion and timpani, the marching versions of which are heavy and awkward. Groups began adding more and more traditional percussion instruments to the pit, and in its modern form, the ensemble may contain any type of percussion instrument.
The main emphasis of the front ensemble are the mallet instruments: marimba, vibraphone, glockenspiel, chimes, crotales, and xylophone. Some marching band circuits also allow non-standard instruments (such as the violin) or electronic instruments (such as synthesizers and bass guitars) in the pit.
The term "pit" comes from musical theater, where the accompanying orchestra sits in the orchestra pit.
History
The front ensemble was developed by member corps of Drum Corps International before being adopted by other marching ensembles. Under the original rules Drum Corps International used with its founding in 1972, all instruments had to be marched without exception.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Front ensemble” is the stationary percussion section in a marching band or drum corps. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Front, ensemble and stationary, not as a finished interpretation.
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This entry incorporates text from “Front ensemble” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.