To the trained ear, melodies flow, ascend, and descend. Dancers react to these melodies, spinning, turning, dipping, and nodding to the key shifts in melody and structure. Northerners sing in high falsetto voices from deep in their throats, pushing sound from the diaphragm. Southerners sing with lower pitch but use the same basic song structure. A drum group is headed by one or more lead singers.
Drum groups learn their songs through constant repetition.
The lead singer ensures that everyone remembers the song by either humming or whistling the melody, and running through it shortly before everyone sings. These have no meaning but carry the tune of the song. They correspond to tones and notes. The rest of the group joins in singing all of the first chorus. Three accented drum beats indicate the break between chorus and verse.