American march music
From ArticleWorld
It is believed that the true era of American March Music was from 1850 through the 1940’s. And that it was overshadowed by the emergence of Jazz music.
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Military’s Music
It is said that march music began before the age of Gunpowder. That the music would maintain order and increase the morale in a military group. This was shown to an extent true with the American march music used during the Revolutionary War and other early wartime conflicts. The fife and snare drum would play as the troops marched into battle. This is why march music is commonly referred as the military’s music.
After the American Civil War, the tradition of playing music while marching into battle ended. The bands continued to perform marches during ceremonies and other similar events. This started the trend of marching music being a form of entertainment.
Marches and the band
Around the late nineteenth century and the early twentieth century, most towns, organizations, theaters and even companies would have their own personal bands. These bands, currently known today as community bands, would perform their music at simple scheduled concerts and tours. Marches became a part of the repertoire of these concert bands and can further explain how the popularity of the march spread so quickly throughout the world.
Circus
Circus had their own community bands for the performances of the circus. They furthered the popularity of the marching music, using the marching music for transitions of spectacles and to help build up tension for the events they were to do.
John Philip Sousa
American composer John Philip Sousa did revolutionize the American march music. Sousa’s marches were gems of simplicity and of understatement His marches were with rousing counterpoint and overall energy. Sousa also standardized the American march form and added much to this genre of music. His piece, Stars and Stripes Forever, soon became the official march of the United States of America.