American march music

Its origins are those of European composers borrowing from the military music of the Ottoman Empire in place there from the 16th century.

The American genre developed after the British model during the colonial and Revolutionary periods, then later as military ceremonials and for civilian entertainment events.

Other notable American composers of march music include Henry Fillmore – "The Circus Bee"; Charles A. Zimmerman – "Anchors Aweigh"; W. Paris Chambers – "Sweeney's Cavalcade"; Edwin E. Bagley – "National Emblem March"; Meredith Willson – "Seventy-six Trombones"; and George Gershwin – "Strike Up the Band".

The true "march music era" succeeded in the United States from the 1850s to the 1920s, and persisted through the 1940s as it slowly became shadowed by the coming of jazz in the U.S.

Earlier marches by Handel, Mozart, and Beethoven tended to be parts of symphonies or movements in suites.

The martial purposes of the music was to regulate army movements in the field by signalling orders, and to keep time during marching and maneuvers.

The extensive use of percussion, especially cymbals, was also for psychological effect as, early on, their use was unknown in Western Europe and had the capacity to frighten opponents.

Published marches were plentiful due to prolific American composers like John Philip Sousa, Karl L. King, and Henry Fillmore.

The Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey circuses presented their bands performing live march music.

[citation needed] According to researcher Paul Bierley, Sousa's marches were known for their simplicity and understatement with rousing counterpoint and overall energy.

His marches are typically marked by a "subdued" trio—as in "The Stars and Stripes Forever", where most of the performing band becomes subordinated to arguably the most famous piccolo obligato in all of music.

[citation needed] Sousa's magnum opus, "The Stars and Stripes Forever" was adopted in 1987 as the national march of the United States.

[1] Sousa was prolific as both composer and orchestrator, writing 137 marches and more than 80 significant pieces, including operettas, overtures, suites, dances, and fantasies, and publishing some 322 arrangements of nineteenth-century western European symphonic works.

[2] He directed the design and production of his namesake instrument, the sousaphone, for its specialized adaption for use in a marching band.

For its ease of carry and its forward-directed sound, the sousaphone is widely employed in marching bands and other musical venues.

Publishing new march music was most popular during the late 19th and early 20th centuries; sponsors of the genre began to diminish after that time.

Following is a list of marches popular world-wide and frequently performed in the United States; in alphabetical order.

The first section of a military march is called the introduction (I) or fanfare; it is typically 4, 8, or 16 bars long and played in marcato style, using forte (loud) dynamics and chromatic alterations to catch the attention of the listener.

Typically this strain utilizes similar motifs (as opposed to contrasting motifs—see trio, below) in its phrasing, and it sounds more rhythmically straightforward than the following section.

The key is now flatter and this repeat will, with softer instrumentation, offer a relaxing feel from the previous volume.

Next comes the breakstrain or breakup strain (sometimes called the dogfight or interlude), making it the fourth melody heard.

It sometimes adds yet another counter-melody or obligato (such as the one in "The Stars and Stripes Forever") and uses all instrumental sections of the band, bringing everything to a close.

The grandioso is the most exciting section of the march; its role is to make the trio melody memorable to the listener.

Apart from "On the Mall", "the Chimes of Liberty", and a couple of others, Goldman's marches in the military form had only two playings (two runs) of the trio.

Sousa's marches of the early 1890s (including "High School Cadets" and "Manhattan Beach"), used an introduction unique to his career.

Typically, after completing the final trio (or 'D' section), the march is re-started; repeats are ignored, and the piece is ended after the second strain.

Codas are rare, but sometimes used; examples: "Riders for the Flag" by Sousa and "Children of the Shrine" by James Swearingen.

Unlike secondary or "borrowed" dominants, this chord does not have logical harmonic functions other than to add texture and interest.

When first being written for grade school bands then being organized throughout the country, most marches were fairly modest in difficulty.

A grading system of difficulty of performance as adapted from Norman Smith's "March Music Notes" follows.