Recent from talks
Marching band
Knowledge base stats:
Talk channels stats:
Members stats:
Marching band
A marching band is a group of instrumental musicians who play while marching. Historically they were used in armed forces and many marching bands remain military bands. Others are still associated with military units or emulate a military style, with elements such as uniforms, flags and batons and occasionally rifles or sabers. Instrumentation typically includes brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments.
Marching bands are generally categorised by affiliation, function, size and instrumentation. In addition to traditional military parades, marching bands are frequently seen at events as varied as carnivals, parades, sporting events, trade union events and marching band competitions.
Instruments have been frequently used on the battlefield (for example the Iron Age carnyx and the medieval Ottoman military band) but the modern marching band developed from European military bands formed in the Baroque period, partly influenced by the Ottoman tradition. 17th-century traveler Evliya Çelebi noted the existence of 40 guilds of musicians in Istanbul. In the 18th century, each regiment in the British Army maintained its own military band. Until 1749 bandsmen were civilians hired at the expense of the colonel commanding a regiment. Subsequently, they became regular enlisted men who accompanied the unit on active service to provide morale enhancing music on the battlefield or, from the late nineteenth century on, to act as stretcher bearers. Instruments during the 18th century included fifes, drums, the oboe (hautbois), French horn, clarinet and bassoon. Drummers summoned men from their farms and ranches to muster for duty. In the chaotic environment of the battlefield, musical instruments were the only means of commanding the men to advance, stand or retire. In the mid 19th century, each smaller unit had their own fifer and drummer, who sounded the daily routine. When units massed for battle a band of musicians was formed for the whole.
In the United States, modern marching bands are often associated with American football games, with the oldest (the University of Notre Dame Band of the Fighting Irish) first performing at an American football game in 1887. After World War I, the presence and quality of marching bands in the American public school system expanded as military veterans with service band experience began to accept music teaching positions within schools with developments such as Precision Drill, a disciplined geometric march, based in part on military-style drill. Today, marching band competitions remain popular in the United States and largely parallel modern drum and bugle corps.
Many marching bands are Military bands which often derive from instrumentation generally consists of brass, woodwinds and percussion and they typically march forward with consistent straight lines and a constant tempo to facilitate the steady marching of the military unit. Field music units include drum and bugle corps, fanfare bands, pipe bands and fife and drum corps.
Military styled marching bands are present in many European countries due to its historical origins in 18th Century European field armies and are present in many other nations due to colonial influence, including Latin America and South America, South and South-East Asia and the Commonwealth (for example Fiji's Military Forces) and many ex-Soviet nations (with the USSR inheriting the tradition from the Kingdom of Russia).
Many bands perform a wide selection of both traditional styles of music such as marches, with film scores, or adaptations of contemporary music. The goal of each band's performance is different. Some aim for maximum uniformity and precision; others aim to be as entertaining as possible. Some show bands also involve comedic elements, such as Scramble bands which generally do not march in time with the music, but, as their name implies, scramble from design to design.
Many bands have auxiliaries that add a visual component to the performance such as a color guard or even dance lines and majorettes. In the USA, these auxiliaries may even perform as independent groups (such as winter guard). While military color guards were typically male, band color guards tend to be primarily female, though for both, mixed groups are becoming more common.
Hub AI
Marching band AI simulator
(@Marching band_simulator)
Marching band
A marching band is a group of instrumental musicians who play while marching. Historically they were used in armed forces and many marching bands remain military bands. Others are still associated with military units or emulate a military style, with elements such as uniforms, flags and batons and occasionally rifles or sabers. Instrumentation typically includes brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments.
Marching bands are generally categorised by affiliation, function, size and instrumentation. In addition to traditional military parades, marching bands are frequently seen at events as varied as carnivals, parades, sporting events, trade union events and marching band competitions.
Instruments have been frequently used on the battlefield (for example the Iron Age carnyx and the medieval Ottoman military band) but the modern marching band developed from European military bands formed in the Baroque period, partly influenced by the Ottoman tradition. 17th-century traveler Evliya Çelebi noted the existence of 40 guilds of musicians in Istanbul. In the 18th century, each regiment in the British Army maintained its own military band. Until 1749 bandsmen were civilians hired at the expense of the colonel commanding a regiment. Subsequently, they became regular enlisted men who accompanied the unit on active service to provide morale enhancing music on the battlefield or, from the late nineteenth century on, to act as stretcher bearers. Instruments during the 18th century included fifes, drums, the oboe (hautbois), French horn, clarinet and bassoon. Drummers summoned men from their farms and ranches to muster for duty. In the chaotic environment of the battlefield, musical instruments were the only means of commanding the men to advance, stand or retire. In the mid 19th century, each smaller unit had their own fifer and drummer, who sounded the daily routine. When units massed for battle a band of musicians was formed for the whole.
In the United States, modern marching bands are often associated with American football games, with the oldest (the University of Notre Dame Band of the Fighting Irish) first performing at an American football game in 1887. After World War I, the presence and quality of marching bands in the American public school system expanded as military veterans with service band experience began to accept music teaching positions within schools with developments such as Precision Drill, a disciplined geometric march, based in part on military-style drill. Today, marching band competitions remain popular in the United States and largely parallel modern drum and bugle corps.
Many marching bands are Military bands which often derive from instrumentation generally consists of brass, woodwinds and percussion and they typically march forward with consistent straight lines and a constant tempo to facilitate the steady marching of the military unit. Field music units include drum and bugle corps, fanfare bands, pipe bands and fife and drum corps.
Military styled marching bands are present in many European countries due to its historical origins in 18th Century European field armies and are present in many other nations due to colonial influence, including Latin America and South America, South and South-East Asia and the Commonwealth (for example Fiji's Military Forces) and many ex-Soviet nations (with the USSR inheriting the tradition from the Kingdom of Russia).
Many bands perform a wide selection of both traditional styles of music such as marches, with film scores, or adaptations of contemporary music. The goal of each band's performance is different. Some aim for maximum uniformity and precision; others aim to be as entertaining as possible. Some show bands also involve comedic elements, such as Scramble bands which generally do not march in time with the music, but, as their name implies, scramble from design to design.
Many bands have auxiliaries that add a visual component to the performance such as a color guard or even dance lines and majorettes. In the USA, these auxiliaries may even perform as independent groups (such as winter guard). While military color guards were typically male, band color guards tend to be primarily female, though for both, mixed groups are becoming more common.
Recent media