American march music is march music written and/or performed in the United States. 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.
One of the earliest exponents of march music in America and its preeminent champion was John Philip Sousa, "The March King"; who revolutionized and standardized American march music during the 19th and early 20th centuries. Some of his most famous marches—"Semper Fidelis", "The Washington Post", "The Liberty Bell March", and "The Stars and Stripes Forever"—are among the best known of historical American music and are especially revered by many Americans for their rousing strains and patriotic themes. His "Stars and Stripes Forever" features what is arguably the most famous piccolo obligato in all of music.
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". Composers (from Europe or elsewhere) of march music popular in the US include: Johann Strauss Sr – "Radetzky March"; Kenneth J. Alford – "Colonel Bogey March"; Julius Fucik – "Entry of the Gladiators"; Edward Elgar – "Pomp and Circumstance (No. 1)".
The forms of American march music typically are of three categories: the military march form, the regimental march form, and a general group containing recapitulation marches, "four-step" marches, and other diverse forms. All marches have at least three common elements, including: different (i.e., contrasting) sections called strains; several different melodies; and a "trio" section of strains/"repeats" that offers pronounced contrasts in phrasing. Most American marches use (seemingly) simple chord progressions, but—using chromatic harmonies, sevenths extensions, and secondary dominants—composers often complicated their marches with interesting chords and rapid chord changes.
History 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. Despite its age and history and its popular performance in the U.S., European march music generally is not thought of as typically American music.
Marches and the military band
The origins of European and American march music can be traced to the military music of the Ottoman Empire. 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. (Indeed, the subsequent adoption of such percussive instruments in European 'classical' music was by direct import from the Ottomans.) Europeans were first exposed to march music in the early 18th century, and interest continued to build into the 1800s when a vogue for Turkish marching bands swept through Europe. Pieces displaying the Turkish influence can be found in the works of Mozart, Haydn, and Beethoven, with a notable example being "Turkish March" by Beethoven (part of Op. 113: Overture and incidental music for Die Ruinen von Athen).
It was apparently during the latter gunpowder age that military march music was developed for armies to support troop morale by marching with music playing, whether from the melody of a fife or the beat of a drum, or both. American march music developed during the American Revolution and earlier colonial conflicts, in which a fife and snare drum would play while troops marched to battle. Thus it is said that march music is a military music.
The tradition of formed lines of soldiers marching into battle with music playing ended soon after the American Civil War in the mid 19th century; military bands continued to perform marches during ceremonial events, which spawned a new tradition of playing marches as a source of entertainment.
Marches and the concert band
During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, many U.S. towns, organizations, theaters, and even companies aspired to have their own band. These so-called community/concert bands performed at scheduled parades and concerts and played at impromptu events such as the popular gazebo concerts. Published marches were plentiful due to prolific American composers like John Philip Sousa, Karl L. King, and Henry Fillmore. Marches became a staple in the repertoire of these concert bands, explaining in part how the popularity of march music spread so rapidly across the country.
Marches and the circus
Marches were also popularized during this period by circus bands. The Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey circuses presented their bands performing live march music. Typically, they played a special variety of marches known descriptively as screamers, two-steps, and cakewalks. These tunes served to energize the crowd and focus attention on the circus acts being performed.
Marches and the marching band
The march music era in the U.S. saw the development of college and high school marching bands, which typically were organized to perform march music during half-time shows and pep-rallies. Composers often dedicated marches to a favored university band.
John Philip Sousa
American composer John Philip Sousa revolutionized American march music. His prolific production of quality marches greatly advanced the genre's popularity. According to researcher Paul Bierley, Sousa's marches were known for their simplicity and understatement with rousing counterpoint and overall energy.
Sousa standardized the military march form in America, see below. 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. Sousa's magnum opus, "The Stars and Stripes Forever" was adopted in 1987 as the national march of the United States.
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. 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.
Notable march composers in the United States Most march composers were from the United States or Europe. 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 march music composers whose marches are still performed in the United States.
Russell Alexander (1877–1915) Kenneth Alford (1881–1945) "The British March King" Edwin Eugene Bagley (1857–1922) Hermann Louis Blankenburg (1876–1956) W. Paris Chambers (1854–1913) Charles E. Duble (1884–1960) Henry Fillmore (1881–1956) "The Trombone King" Julius Fucik (1872–1916) "The Czech March King" James M. Fulton (1873–1940) "Associated Press", "Waterbury American" Bernard Gilmore (1937–2013) "Five Folk Songs for Soprano and Band" Edwin Franko Goldman (1878–1956) "The American Bandmaster" Robert B. Hall (1858–1907) "The New England March King" John Clifford Heed (1864–1908) Arthur W. Hughes (ca.1870-ca.1950) Fred Jewell (1875–1936) "The Indiana March King" Karl L. King (1891–1971) "Iowa's Own Music Man", "The Circus Music King" John N. Klohr (1869–1956) Alex F. Lithgow (1870–1923) "Invercargill" Frank H. Losey (1872–1931) "The Pennsylvania March King" J. J. Richards (1878–1956) "The Long Beach March King" William Rimmer (1862–1936) Roland F. Seitz (1867–1946) "The Parade Music Prince" George Dallas Sherman (1844–1927) Composer of "Salute to Burlington" John Philip Sousa (1854–1932) "The March King" Carl Albert Hermann Teike (1864–1922) John Williams (1932–present)
Famous marches
Following is a list of marches popular world-wide and frequently performed in the United States; in alphabetical order.
"All Sports March" – Robert Farnon "American Patrol" (1885) – W. Frank Meacham "Americans We" (1929) – Henry Fillmore "Amparito Roca" (1925)– Jaime Teixidor "Anchors Aweigh" – Charles A. Zimmerman "Band of America" – Paul Lavalle "Bandology" – Eric Osterling "Barnum and Bailey's Favorite" (1913) – Karl L. King "Belgian Paratroopers (Marche des Parachutistes Belges)" – Pierre Leemans "The Big Cage" (1934) – Karl L. King "The Black Horse Troop" (1924) - John Philip Sousa "Black Jack March" – Fred K. Huffer "Blaze Away!" – Abe Holzmann "The Billboard" – John N. Klohr "Bombasto" – Orion R. Farrar "Boston Commandery March" – Thomas M. Carter "Bravura" – Charles E. Duble "Brighton Beach" – William Latham "Brooke's Chicago Marine Band" – Roland F. Seitz "Captain America March" – Alan Silvestri "The Chicago Tribune March" – W. Paris Chambers "The Chimes of Liberty" – Edwin F. Goldman "Coat of Arms" – George Kenny "Colossus of Columbia" – Russell Alexander "Colonel Bogey March" – Kenneth J. Alford "Combination March" – Scott Joplin "Commando March" – Samuel Barber "Coronation March" from Le Prophète – Giacomo Meyerbeer "Country Band March" (1903) - Charles Ives "Crusade for Freedom" – J.J. Richards "Children of the Shrine" – James Swearingen "E Pluribus Unum" – Fred Jewell "El Capitan" – John Philip Sousa "Emblem of Unity" – J.J. Richards "Entry of the Gladiators" (Thunder and Blazes) (1897) – Julius Fučík "Fairest of the Fair" – John Philip Sousa "Father of Victory (Le père la victoire)" – Louis Ganne "The Florentiner March" – Julius Fučík "The Footlifter" – Henry Fillmore "George Washington Bicentennial March" – John Philip Sousa "The Gallant Seventh" – John Philip Sousa "Guadalcanal March" – Richard Rodgers "Hail to the Chief" – James Sanderson "Hail, America" – George Drumm "Hail, Columbia" – Philip Phile "Hands Across the Sea" (1899) – John Philip Sousa "High School Cadets-March" – John Philip Sousa "The Imperial March" – John Williams "In Storm and Sunshine" – John C. Heed "Independentia March" – Robert Browne Hall "Invincible Eagle" – John Philip Sousa "Invercargill March" (1909)- Alex F. Lithgow "Joyce's 71st New York Regiment March" – Thornton Barnes Boyer "The Klaxon" (1929) – Henry Fillmore "Königgrätzer Marsch" – Johann Gottfried Piefke "The Liberty Bell" (1893) (Used as score for "Monty Python's Flying Circus") – John Philip Sousa "The March from 1941" – John Williams "March from A Little Suite" – Trevor Duncan "The March from Stripes" – Elmer Bernstein "March Grandioso" – Roland F. Seitz "Marines' Hymn – Jacques Offenbach "The Melody Shop" – Karl L. King "Men of Ohio" – Henry Fillmore "The Men of the Yorktown March" – John Williams "Midway March" – John Williams "Military Escort" – Henry Fillmore "Miss Liberty March" – Karl L. King "National Emblem" – Edwin Eugene Bagley "The New Colonial March" – Robert Browne Hall "Officer of the Day March" – Robert Browne Hall "Official West Point March" – Philip Egner "On Parade" – Edwin Franko Goldman "On the Mall" – Edwin Franko Goldman "Onward and Upward" – Edwin Franko Goldman "On the Square" – Frank Panella "On the Quarter Deck" – Kenneth J. Alford "Old Comrades (Alte Kameraden)" (1899) – Carl Teike "Our Director" – F.E. Bigelow "The Pathfinder of Panama" – John Philip Sousa