BUFFALO, N.Y. — Living life to the beat of your own drum is an important lesson to learn. Finding a way for that beat to meld with others is just as important.

One Buffalo middle school team is finding that balance, and with it, success.

“Well, I wanted to teach them how to play an instrument,” said P.S. 79 music teacher Anne Landey. “I brought in a class set of buckets, and their eyes went big,”

It was a simple idea to get kids interested in music.

“I drum fast by making my sticks loose. I hold them like this," showed 71 Drumline member Kyionn Minter, gesturing.

The students of 71 Drumline are figuring out their technique.

"You could hit the rim, the bucket, the side," said 71 Drumline member Hayden Rainey.

"You could lift off the bucket and hit it, and it'll make a different sound,” added 71 Drumline member Amayliz Morales.

They’re also having a good time.

“To help out the school so that we can, you know, become famous, " said 71 Drumline member Naulmerys Osorio Rivera.

It came as second nature.

“If you notice, it's student leaders, right? It's student composers,” noted Landey.

They found inspiration in everyday sounds.

“We used Jingle Bells as one of our beats," said Rivera. "We also used a teacher's room tone.”

“We heard it, and you're like, wait, this would -," said Rainey

"Low-key fire, yeah,” chimed in 71 Drumline member Addison Klopp.

They put their own piece together. It's a story of everyone having a voice.

Their broken sticks and taped-up buckets are evidence of the work they put in.

“We go through them very, very quickly,” Landey said.

“It's hard, especially when you're nervous, and you're tired from the day,” said Rivera.

It’s not always perfect.

“I like the stick throwing part," said Klopp. "High risk, high reward.”

Whatever happens, they keep going.

“You have to smile. Don't show any emotion," Klopp added.

"Silent scream,” noted Rainey.

“Oh, I didn't, I'm sorry,” laughed Klopp.

Each run-through serves as a lesson.

“It's building relationships. It's also building self-worth and self-confidence,” Landey said.

While they're praised within the walls of their school, they were made fun of at their first competition.

“There's actual drummer drummers. We were the only bucket drummers," recalled Rainey.

"It was lunch before the competition. He was in eighth grade at the time, and he was so cocky. He was like, 'Oh my god, we're gonna demolish you guys. Oh, we're so gonna win,'" added Klopp. "We were like, 'We'll see when competition comes.'”

Now they’re the defending champs and inspiring others to step up too.

“I like the echo in here because it's like, boom, when you're done," said Klopp.

"It's like an explosion," Rivera chimed in.

"It's so magical,” Klopp added.

Now, they have a taste for gold that can't be quenched.

“Stay humble. Stay hungry,” said Klopp.

71 Drumline will perform at Six Flags Darien Lake on May 30, along with other schools from various states.

They say they wouldn’t have made it here without help from the community, which includes bucket donations, soundproof headphones for practices and covered entry fees.