March (music) Totally Explained

Everything about March Music totally explained

A march, as a musical genre, is a piece of music with a strong regular rhythm which in origin was expressly written for marching to and most frequently performed by a military band. In mood, marches range from the moving death march in Wagner's Götterdämmerung to the brisk military marches of John Philip Sousa and the martial hymns of the late 19th century. Examples of the varied use of the march can be found in Beethoven's Eroica Symphony, in the marches militaires of Franz Schubert, in the marche funèbre in Chopin's Sonata in B flat minor, and in the Dead March in Handel's Saul.

Description

Marches can be written in any time signature, but the most common time signatures are 4/4, 2/2 (alla breve [althoughthis may refer to 4/2 time up until the time of Brahms] or cut time), and 6/8; however, some modern marches are being written in 2/4 time (although this isn't always considered standard). The modern march tempo hovers around 120 beats to the minute (the standard Napoleonic march tempo); however, many funeral marches conform to the Roman standard, 60 beats to the minute.
In addition to the instrumentation, time signature and tempo, other features are characteristic of most marches (though many exceptions exist). Marches usually consist of several strains or sections, usually of 16 or 32 measures in length, and usually repeated at least once during the course of the march. Marches generally have a strong and steady percussive beat reminiscent of military field drums. Marches frequently change keys once, modulating to the subdominant (and occasionally returning to the original tonic key). Or if it begins in a minor key, it modulates to the relative major. Marches frequently counter melodies introduced during the repeat of a main melody. Marches frequently have a penultimate dogfight strain in which two groups of instruments (high/low, woodwind/brass, etc.) alternate in a statement/response format. In most traditional American marches, there are three strains. The third strain is referred to as the "trio".
A military music event where various marching bands and units perform is called tattoo.

History

Marches were not notated until the late 16th century; until then, time was generally kept by percussion alone, often with improvised fife embellishment. With the extensive development of brass instruments, especially in the 19th century, marches became widely popular and were often elaborately orchestrated. Composers such as Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Ludwig van Beethoven, and Gustav Mahler wrote marches, often incorporating them into their operas, sonatas, or symphonies. The later popularity of John Philip Sousa's band marches was unmatched.
The march tempo was adapted by Napoleon Bonaparte so that his army could move faster. Since he planned to occupy the territory he conquered, instead of his soldiers carrying all of their provisions with them, they'd live off the land and march faster.
March music originates from military, and often are played by a marching band. The most important instruments are various drums (especially snare drum), horns, fife or woodwind instruments and brass instruments. Marches and marching bands have even today a strong connection to military, both to drill and parades. Marches, which are played at paces with multiples of normal heartbeat, can have a hypnotic effect on the marching soldiers, rendering them into a trance, This effect was widely known already in the 16th century, and was employed to lead the soldiers in closed ranks against the enemy fire in the 16th and 17th century wars.

American march music

The true "march music era" existed from 1855 to the 1940s as it slowly became shadowed by the coming of jazz. Earlier marches, such as the ones from Ludwig Van Beethoven, Wolfgang Mozart, and George Frideric Handel tended to be part of a symphony or a movement in a suite. Despite the age of these marches, the history it holds and its performance in the United States, they're generally not thought of as "typical American march music".
American march music can't be discussed without mentioning the "March King," John Philip Sousa. Some of his most famous marches include Semper Fidelis, The Washington Post March, The Liberty Bell, and Stars and Stripes Forever. Another popular march composer utilized by American High schools and colleges was Karl King.
A specialized form of "typical American march music" is the circus march, or screamer, typified by the marches of Henry Fillmore and Karl King. These marches are performed at a significantly faster tempo (140 - 200 beats per minute) and generally have an abundance of runs, fanfares and other "showy" features. Frequently the low brass has one or more strains (usually the second strain) in which they're showcased with both speed and bombast. Stylistically, many circus marches employ a lyrical final strain which (in the last time through the strain) starts out maestoso (majestically -- slower and more stately) and then in the second half of the strain speeds up to end the march faster than the original tempo.

European march music

Many European countries and cultures developed characteristic styles of marches. Some of the styles and characteristics are

British marches

British marches typically move at a more stately pace (ca. 112-120 beats per minute), have intricate countermelodies (frequently appearing only in the repeat of a strain), have a wide range of dynamics (including unusually soft sections), use full-value "stingers" at the ends of phrases (as opposed to the shorter "marcato" stinger of American marches). The final strain of a British march often has a broad lyrical quality to it. Archetypical British marches include those of Kenneth Alford, such as the well-known Colonel Bogey March.

Scots-Irish Marches

Scots-Irish move at a similar paces with British marches, but are distinctly different from them in that they incorporate traditional instruments of the Scots and Irish, as well as their respective Celtic and Scot harmonies. Notable Scots-Irish march performers that carry on the indigenous march traditions are The First Battalion Irish Guards, The Gordon Highlanders, Scottish Military Tattoo, and contemporaries Flogging Molly, and the Dropkick Murphys.

German marches

German marches move at a very strict tempo, and have a strong "oom-pah" polka-like/folk-like quality resulting from the bass drum and low-brass playing on the downbeats and alto voices such as "peck horn" and the snare drums playing on the off-beats. This provides a very "martial" quality to these marches. The low brass is often featured prominently in at least one strain of a German march. To offset the rhythmic martiality of most of the strains, the final strain ("trio") often has a lyrical (if somewhat bombastic) quality.
Notable German and Austrian march composers include Franz von Suppe, Richard Strauss, Richard Wagner, Georg Fürst (Badenweiler Marsch), Carl Teike (Alte Kameraden), and Johann Gottfried Piefke (Preußens Gloria).

French marches

French military marches are similar to German ones. Examples would be Saint Cyr

, Marche de la 2eme DB/March of the Second Armored Division

, Le Regiment de Sambre et Meuse

Dutch marches

Dutch marches are quite different from their main European counterparts. Typically they feature a heavy intro by the trombones, euphoniums, drumms, and sousaphones, followed by a lighter section, a lighthearted trio and a reasonably fast and somewhat 'bombastic' conclusion. Some well known Dutch march composers are Willy Schootemeyer, Adriaan Maas, Johan Wichers and Hendrik Karels.(musical examples of Dutch marches: Dutch Royal Constabulary

and Royal Dutch Marine Corps

)

Italian marches

Italian marches have a very "light" musical feel, often having sections of fanfare or soprano obligatos performed with a light "coloratura" articulation. This "frilly" characteristic is contrasted with broad lyrical melodies reminiscent of operatic arias. It is relatively common to have one strain (often a first introduction of the final strain) that's played primarily by the higher-voiced instruments, or in the upper ranges of the instruments's compass. A typical Italian march would be "Il Bersagliere" (The Italian Rifleman) by Boccalari.

Spanish marches

The most characteristic Spanish march form is the Pasodoble. Spanish marches often have fanfares at the beginning or end of strains that are reminiscent of traditional bullfight or flamenco music. These marches often move back and forth between major and (relative) minor keys, and often show a great variation in tempo during the course of the march reminiscent of an exaggerated or prolonged Viennese rubato. A typical Spanish march would be Amparito Roca by Jaime Texidor.

Czech marches

Czech (Bohemian) march composers include František Kmoch and Julius Fučík, who wrote Entrance of the Gladiators.

Middle Eastern Marches

Turkish marches

Modern Turkey's march is İstiklal Marşı. It has power and anger with an aggressive tune. But generally, old Turkish marches at the times of the Ottoman Empire are aggressive in the lyrics and more confident in the tunes, but still frightful to enemy, for example Mehter Marşı. It is notable that Mozart and Beethoven also wrote popular Turkish marches.

Further Information

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