The Different Drummer

A drum corps was providing the rhythm for a great military review, led by two drum majors, one snazzily dressed in pearl gray and the other in ivory.

All went well until one drummer started doing his own beat.  Some of the marchers got off.

The major in pearl gray signaled for louder beats.  Surely this would drown out the errant drummer.  But the errant drummer continued to play in the pauses between the beats.  The chaos continued.  The drum major in pearl gray shrugged and asked his colleague if he had any ideas.

The drum major in ivory signaled for creativity and improvisation.  By varying the patterns within the basic structure of the marching rhythm, the drum corps would not only keep the marchers going but also provide an attractive experience that the out of sync drummer would want to enjoy, thus luring him back into rhythm.  It didn’t work.  The out of sync drummer simply played louder so it could still be heard that he was doing his own thing.

But then the first drum major signaled for louder beats and the second signaled for continued improvisation on the basic rhythm, and this combination ended the sound of the different drummer, whether because he rejoined the group or because he could no longer be heard, and the review went on.