My pit this summer will have 12--four marimbas, four vibes, a xylo, a rack, a tympanist, and a tympani/rack spot

my pit is HUGE. it usually starts off with about 5 people. we're really amazing at the beginning of the year. once about 2 weeks pass and people transfer schools, my director decides to add the new people to pit until next year. so by the end of the season we have about 12 people who can't play at all. it really makes us 5 talented people look bad.

We had five this year. *sigh* It was awful... None of them were proud of what they played, and you could really tell.

I'm starting to form a independent winter drum line? I was wondering how many people in each section is recommended for a first year group.

This can sometimes depend on what class you're going to be in. World lines tend to have bigger groups. I've heard that this is necessary in order to be competitive. I'm sure it also helps with balance issues with the battery so you're not always relying on amplification to be heard over the 9-member snare line. However, Project only has 5 mallets, 3 Aux boys, and 1 synth this year and we're PIW.

I'm sure a new line would not be starting out in World class.

WGI maintains that the minimum amount of members is 6. That is a very small ensemble if you're doing anything other than a Concert group. I would probably say a minimum you should aim for would be:

With a front ensemble - 2 snares, 1 tenor, 3 bass, 2 FE
Without a FE - 3 snares, 1 tenor, 4 bass

"I'm sure a new line would not be starting out in World class."

Actually, this is my winterline's first year and we started out strong in PIW class. We've already beat some big name groups like Black Knights and Momentum. It all depends on the talent you attract, the design of your show, and your staff.

this year we had 9 people in the pit which is kinda small for my highschool(some players were not dedicated and didnt play). the whole pit and line was like 30 people which is still kinda small compared to past years.

Ours is mostly 3 but the other dude cant play pit for crap so its really 2..

we have 3 marimbas, 3 vibes, 2 xylos, timpani player, and probably a couple more people will be coming to play rack