About Arizona Indoor Percussion

Indoor percussion is organized through Winter Guard International (WGI), and specifically in Arizona, Winter Guard Arizona (WGAZ). Arizona has been a great source of young percussion talent in recent years, and in 2011, Dark Sky Percussion will be the longest running, active independent drumline in Arizona.

Dark Sky Percussion is one piece within a larger indoor drumming sport, and while being a leader in the Arizona drumming scene, there are dozens of other groups around the nation who compete in other WGI circuits: 170 percussion ensembles from over 40 states and 4 countries (source: WGI).

Indoor Percussion has a rich history dating back to the mid 1970's when it began as an official sport. As the Sport of the Arts has progressed through the years, competitive divisions have emerged that classify similar indoor drumming groups as either:

Scholastic – drumlines that consist of members who are all from the same school system
Independent – drumlines whose members may come from anywhere

And then the divisions of competition are further divided into the following classes:

Scholastic Concert – indoor percussion groups that do not march
A Class – indoor percussion groups designed for beginning drummers
Open – indoor percussion groups that consist of intermediate to advanced marching percussionists
World – indoor percussion groups consisting of highly advanced musical athletes, many of which are members of the best drum and bugle corps organizations in the world.

Dark Sky Percussion has previously competed in the Independent Open class of WGI from 2008-2010. For more information about indoor percussion and the percussion environment in Arizona, visit: