The Marches of John Philip Sousa

The Marches of John Philip Sousa

The information provided is from various sources and is mostly the work of Mr. Paul E Bierley Sousa’s biographer and we are indebted to him for this insight.  This list does not represent everything Sousa wrote. There is a vast list of arrangements and various other works which he composed and arranged. This compilation does however list his recorded works (Presidents Own US Marine band 1978).For an in depth look at Sousa  it is strongly recommended that you obtain THE INCREDIBLE BAND OF JOHN PHILIP SOUSA  by Paul Bierley 2007from ALTISSIMO RECORDS (see under BOOKS)

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Military Band Instruments

The extensive knowledge of writers of both articles and letters for Military Modeling cannot fail to impress all readers. Details of dress, equipment, command structures are discussed at length and with authority. Then, too, manufacturers large and small can supply us with a range of goods covering a vast area in time, space and scale. It is all painstakingly researched and presented. Yet there does appear to be a blighted spot; to wit, military bands. Why this is I have no idea, but to read “the hautbois… appears to have been a large flageolet or clarionet;” to have makers offering “large, medium and small euphoniums,” and to see some of the thick ugly models of flutes and bassoons played by excellent bandsmen all show that there is a dark patch on to which I may throw some light.

I have wondered how to approach the subject and have thought it best to take a modern British military band and go through all the instruments in turn, taking side steps for defunct ones or rarities – such as, for example on the last record I bought – Rhythm Guitar. I have yet to see this instrument in the Household Cavalry mounted bands, but it may come, and instead of a skewbald horse with a classical name such as “Hector” or “Cicero” carrying kettledrums we will see “Rock” with a guitar player and “Roll” bearing the electric amplifying equipment.

A small band of two dozen players could consist of flute and piccolo player, an oboe, six or seven clarinets, alto and tenor saxophones and a bassoon in the woodwind. It is rare to find the concert instruments of bassoon and oboe played on the march, the players of these instruments usually double to play bass drum and cymbals; when mounted they may well play some other instrument such as a saxophone.

For brass there could be two French horns, four of five comets, three trombones, euphonium and two basses and one percussion player (side drum). In a mounted band there would be a kettledrummer, no oboe, the French horn players would play tenor horns or extra comets, and there would probably be no bassoon. In the past some cavalry regiments had little woodwind in their bands. The British brass band is a very different combination and whilst it has no woodwind it has instruments that do not often appear elsewhere.

Percussion instruments are those you hit such as drums, cymbals, xylophone, etc., and may be autophonic or membrane instruments of either definite pitch or indefinite pitch. Wind instruments are those you blow and I would suggest as a simple distinction that the brass are those where the sound is generated by the vibration of the player’s lips together with a cup-shaped mouthpiece. The others are woodwind as most of them were once made from wood. This puts the saxophone, whether made from brass or plastic, firmly in the woodwind group, and the serpent, made from wood or leather, in the brass. Please do not expect perfect order in matters musical.

The Woodwind

Flutes – Now, – the flute. A very old and simple instrument, it is a thin tube 26 to 27 inches long and ³/₄in. or so internal diameter with one end plugged up. There is a mouth hole half an inch from the plugged end and down the side of the instrument is a series of six or more holes which can be closed by fingers or keys. The sound is produced by blowing across the mouth hole to split the jet of air on the far side of the hole. There are various sizes of flutes and in Ulster whole bands of flutes and drums are popular. That is where James Galway became a flautist.

A half-size flute is a piccolo. A fife is a small flute with no keys. The keys on all woodwind instruments were developed in the last century so that they could be played in tune and so that three fingers could cover four or more holes.

There is another group of woodwind without reeds that is a development of the whistle. This is the recorder family in many sizes. Flageolets and tin whistles are all of this group and it would be quite wrong to suppose that marching soldiers have never been cheered on their way by tin whistles. Actually, a recent record by the Green Howards does feature a descant recorder (yes, the one you learnt at school) published by “Music Masters.”

Now although the flute chased the recorder out of the 18th century orchestra because it could make a louder note, it is a quiet instrument until it reaches its third or top octave. Hence the smaller fife became the military instrument and today a small band will ask the flautist to take the piccolo for outdoor work and leave the flute for concerts. At its high pitch the piccolo is easily heard playing dancing, sparkling little tunes of its own way up above the whole band. Note, for example, the famous piccolo solo in the second part of Sousa’s “The Stars and Stripes for Ever.” The piccolo can be heard right through to the end.

Sometimes the flute is helped out by a small Eb clarinet (see clarinet).

The fife, having no key work, is a more robust instrument for active service and is still in use in drum and fife bands. Will modelers please keep the instrument nice and thin! Use a piece of wire. Until after Waterloo most flutes and fifes were made of boxwood – a light brown wood, with ivory or brass ferrules and such key work as there was in brass. Then black wood such as grenadilla or cocus wood was used. For several years metal has been replacing wood -gold for James Galway, but silver plate for most flutes – but not fifes.

. Imagine the flute held straight out in front like a recorder with the left-hand above the right. Then swing the in5tru-ment to the right so that it is almost parallel to the shoulder. It is supported by the first joint of the first finger of the Left hand and by the right thumb. The hand positions on the woodwind were almost fixed by 1800, up till then the few keys there were could be worked by either hand.

 

All the other band instruments can be fitted with a small lyre-shaped spring clip two inches across to hold books or cards of music 6in. x 4in. 7in. x Sin. The clip has a stalk to fix into a socket on the instrument or a ring fitting round it. But the poor flautist has no place to fix his music lyre so it is put on a leather arm or wrist band on the left arm. With a bit of movement it can be adjusted to hold the music where the player can see it.

The Oboe

This spelling has replaced the older “hautbois” and “hautboys” which mean “high wood” in French. It is a treble wooden instrument that came from France in 1674 as a development of a folk instrument that had been around a long, long time. By 1678 the Horse Grenadiers had six – and then dragoons got one and a drum for each troop. In 1684 a Royal Warrant gave 12 to the Foot Guards and fictitious names were put on the strength so that the players could have higher pay. The term “hautboys” meant “bandsmen” until 1834.

As we saw, flutes and recorders have no reeds. All the other woodwind make their sound from cane reeds beating either against each other or against a mouthpiece. Oboes have-two reeds ³/₈in. wide fixed to a 2¹/₂in. metal tube or “staple” which fits into the conical wooden instrument, 23in. long – i.e. 25V₂in. over all. The cone shape tapers from 3/6 in. at the staple to l 1/2in. at the bell (internal measurements). Two reeds and a narrow conical tube. Back in the 18th century it was the best wind instrument for playing tunes out of doors; it made plenty of noise and was fairly robust in construction and sound. Again it was boxwood until after Waterloo when black crocus wood began to be used and the few brass keys were replaced by more of white metal.

The wind bands of 1800 were two oboes, possibly two clarinets, two horns and two bassoons. During the 19th century both French and German makers and players developed more refined instruments with highly complicated key work, but delicate in reeds, construction and tone. So much has this development occurred that small bands today do not always take an oboe on the march, but let the player play the cymbals. Indoors it provides a separate very distinctive voice.

It is not an easy instrument to control and so good players are not plentiful. I’m afraid some military bands today omit it altogether even on records. Adam Carse* says”the nerve center of the oboe lies in its reed. and in the bore is its soul.” Atarah ben Tovim knows “few con-tented oboists.” and adds “but again. a neurotic child who needs an excuse to worry. could find the oboe good therapy. Finding or making reeds. alone. can be a full time occupation.” It is no longer the raucous thing it was 200 years ago.

A slightly larger sized instrument is the cor anglois. Don’t translate that or you get “English horn” and it is neither English nor a horn. Large bands use it indoors where it is given sad melodies such as Dvorak gave to it in the “Goin’ Home” theme of his New World symphony. The staple that holds the reeds is curved and the bell is not bell but egg shaped.

The Sarrusophone

In 1856 M. Sarrus brought Out this family of eight different-sized instruments to replace oboes and bassoons in French bands. They had. like them, double reeds. but were made of brass with a broader conical bore. though not quite as broad as the saxophones. They didn’t survive. possibly because whilst they were powerful enough in the lower registers they were too weak higher up. French and Italian bands used them a bit, especially the larger bass size.

Clarinets

There is a whole family of clarinets from a small one in E flat to enormous contra basses. The one that is the mainstay of the band and. with the coronets. responsible for most of the melody is the clarinet in B flat. If you do not understand the term “in B flat.” and you want to. look up “transposing instrument” in a musical dictionary. Otherwise Just use it as an indication of size.

Towards the end of the 17th century J. C. Denner invented the clarinet in Nurnberg. It was called “clarionet” — i.e. a little clarion or trumpet. There is one reed beating against a wood. ebonite or plastic mouthpiece. The tube is cylindrical. The B flat clarinet reed is about halt an inch wide and 21 ₂in. or 50 long and is held on to the mouth-piece by a metal clip. The instrument is 26in. long and ⁵₁₆in. internal diameter. It was boxwood with brass keys and the reed bound on with thread until early in the last century. Now it is black wood or ebonite. Metal ones have been made for band use. but they have never been popular in Britain.

It is the sound of several clarinets together that give the modern band its characteristic tone. A cornet can be louder, and lots of other instruments take solo parts. especially for concert work. but it is the clarinets in three or four parts that are the core of the band. A band of 24 would have six or seven B flat clarinets. The leading “solo clarinet” player will be expected to play anything asked of him perfectly and to have full control over the whole of the amazing range of tone that the instrument can give.

The E flat clarinet is a smaller instrument used largely to double flute parts. Larger alto, bass and contra bass clarinets do appear at times. A curved metal tube connects the mouth-piece to the main tube and the metal bell at the bottom is again curved up. Some people mistake them for saxophones. but they are not — the bore is strictly cyndrical and usually the main tube is of black wood. A sling round the player’s neck takes the weight.

Saxophones

Note the spelling the fourth letter is “o”. Adolphe Sax. a Belgian. patented his new instrument in Paris in 1846. He made it specifically for the military band to bridge the gap that had developed between the woodwind and the brass with the numerous improvements that had been made to the latter. So that he could get a louder sound than the established woodwind gave. he chose a broader bore and large keyholes that had to be covered by padded keys. A clarinet style mouth-piece with one reed was joined to a conical brass tube. One reed and a broad conical tube.

At first Sax had two groups of saxophone. one for the orchestra and one for the band. but the first group never flourished and saxophones that do appear in orchestras from time to time come from the band group. There are seven sizes though the smallest and largest are rare. The two smallest. the E flat sopranino and B flat soprano. are straight The soprano is 23in. long and tapers from just over in. to nearly in. plus a bell. A 24-man (or I must add woman. for not all military bands are male) band will have at least one each of the next two sizes E flat alto and B flat tenor. The E flat baritone is a frequent member of larger bands. but the bass and contra bass being large and cumbersome are not found. All the sizes from alto downwards have one or more bends at the mouth-piece end and have the bell curled up and forward. They are supported by a sling round the player’s neck.

French bands took up the new instrument straight away. the British took longer. Jazz was first played on instruments from the armies of the American Civil War and that is how the saxophone got in to jazz right from the start.

The saxophone in all sizes is a powerful reed instrument, though the tone and style in the band are not those of jazz. It does fill the gap between the other woodwind and the brass. In order not to use the term “woodwind” to include the saxophones. the terms “reeds” is often used. but as flutes are included in the “reeds” this term is just as false. Alto and tenor saxes can take solo parts or they can help the horns in holding notes in the middle registers. They play counter melodies with the bassoon or euphonium or the baritone may play the bass line.

Bassoon

A word from French “box son ” low sound. The Germans and Italians call it the “fogot” or “fogotto” because it looks like a faggot or bundle of sticks. It goes back to the 16th century. The actual tube is eight feet long. but it is doubled back on itself so that the whole instrument is only about 50 inches long. Two reeds, much bigger than oboe reeds fit around a brass tube of ^1~in. internal diameter called the crook. The crook bends up and down into the first wooden portion — the tenor joint. This goes down to the butt. The butt is one piece of wood with two tubes bored, one coming down from the tenor joint and one going up to the long joint. The bottom allows for continuity of the air column of the instrument and is then closed by a cork. The long joint goes up to the bell joint which is I~ ₂in. internal diameter. Thus we have a two-reeded instrument with a conical tube like the oboe. Maple or rosewood is used — a nice warm color. The bell joint has been made of brass, but not often. It is now topped with an ivory ferrule, or what looks like ivory. The keywork, formerly brass, is now plated. An oddity on German-style bassoons is a wooden rest to fit between the right thumb and first finger allowing the hand to steady the instrument. but allowing both thumb and fingers to be used for key work. In most other woodwind the right thumb has no duty other than to hold the instrument. A sling round the player’s neck takes the weight.

The tone is quite unique. Because of its length some finger holes are bored through thick wooden walls of the tube on the slant so that whilst fingers can reach to cover the holes or the outside, the holes are far enough apart inside to sound the correct pitch. Even so, it is a difficult instrument (partly the double reed again) and has to be kept in tune by the player. Pianists and organists can blame the tuner for faulty notes. Other instrumentalists have to find special fingerings and lip muscle movements to get their notes in pitch and of good tone.

Coleridge in “The Ancient Mariner” writes of the “loud bassoon.” Unfortunately it is not loud, especially as it goes up the scale and so today some small bands do not take it on the march, but let the player take the bass drum. In concert work a band of 24 will have one, bigger bands two. It takes the bass line, sometimes on its own for light woodwind work. It takes counter melodies in the tenor register and adds little phrases at the end of a line when no other instrument is moving, and has its own solos. Listen to John Downey’s “The Edge of Space” to hear what a bassoon can say. It is far more than a clown, though it can be that too.

A digression

And now a side step well, I think it is. I’ve mentioned that the oboe when called the “hautboy” was the instrument for the infantry and also – so that the fact that they rode horses and had swords should not give them ideas above their station — for the dragoons. Both oboe and bassoon have double reeds that are not easy to control and for this reason and because their tone has lost its carrying power they are no longer prominent members of the band. There is, however, a group of double reed conical tube instruments where the reeds have been taken away from the players’ lips and where the strength of sound is good the bagpipes. They are found all over the world in diverse forms, but it is the Scottish Highland form that is used in all British style bands except where the Irish use a slightly different Irish instrument. I say “British style” because Gurkhas, Pakistanis, Canadians and many other former and present Commonwealth bands use the Highland pipes.

A mouth pipe blows into a sheepskin bag through a non-return valve. The left arm keeps pressure on the bag sending air through three drone pipes (two in Irish pipes) and one chanter pipe. The chanter pipe is conical and has two reeds and eight finger holes. The player no longer worries about lip and tongue control for he has none. All is done by very complicated finger work. The scale of the pipes is based on the minor scale; the Highland bagpipe scale is of nine notes with a flattened 7th note (like playing all white notes on the piano from G to A). They can play “Over the Sea to Skye,” but not the National Anthem. Furthermore, some notes are slightly sharp to the European scale. This makes them quite different from all other instruments and so they are not part of the band — they do not fit in.

There is no doubt that beautiful arrangements can be produced with care by the arranger. In 1971, the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards issued a record of “Amazing Grace,” a tune played on the pipes with the band and a number of other tunes have been recorded since. Personally I do not like this, I think it below the dignity of the pipes, but record sales shows that many others disagree with me.

Another form of pipe has recently made are-appearance into the military band. This is the Aeolian or Northumbrian pipe, played by pressure of the arm on bellows attached to the bag. Each battalion of the old Royal Northumberland Fusiliers had a Northumbrian pipe player attached to it, but fell ‘:into disuse during WWII. Recently a piper has re-emerged and attached to the 1st Battalion Royal Regiment of Fusiliers.

The brass instruments are louder than the woodwind. They are instruments where the sound is generated by the vibration of the player’s lips producing a column of air when placed against a cup or cone shaped mouth-piece.

The Bugle

Like the fife, the bugle is not a real military band instrument, though it can play with the band and, unlike the pipes, is more in tune with the band. It is a conical tube of broad bore. Just as with the woodwind, the cone or cylinder shape and the comparative bore of the tube is important. It is made of copper or brass and may be silver-plated and highly ornamented. The 4½ feet of tubing is coiled into an oval and widens to a 4in. to Sin. bell. It came with the Jagers (hunters) from Germany who brought it with them along with their green uniform to influence our light infantry and rifle regiments. Note the old shape of the bugle in the light infantry badges.

Unfortunately the instrument can only give five notes. Nevertheless, they are loud and clear. It is a simple and robust instrument and in B flat has been used as a signaling instrument since the Crimean War. Bugle and drum bands exist, but as I say, the tunes are limited to five notes.

Horns

French horns came from the French hunting field just as bugles came from Germany. Actually most of Europe used one or both instruments and in recent years television let us hear the nine hunting horns of the Prince of Thurn and Taxis celebrating his birthday. The horns entered the orchestra and band in the 17th century and their technique was soon stretched to the utmost. Being of longer tube and narrower than the bugle they could sound more notes in the higher registers.

It was discovered in 1764 that notes difficult to play in tune could be modified by putting the hand in the bell and cupping the fingers. This technique is also used to modify the tone. French horn players always keep the right hand in the bell and modern horns have the valves operated by the left hand, unlike the other brass.

The bell is about 11 in. diameter and there is about 12 feet of tubing in a 14in. circle. The mouth-piece is much more conical than the other brass. The bore is narrow until the rapid flare out to the bell. This gives the horn its peculiar tone -from soft and cooing to a raging flash. Many horn players do not wish to be associated with the “heavy brass” – comets and trombones -considering their style and duties more closely bound to the woodwind.

A small band will have one pair of French horns, larger bands, two or three. They fill in the middle harmonies, blend the brass and wood-wind sounds together and often hold notes over from one bar to the next to give continuity of sound. They are soloists and also work as a section or a larger group enlarged by other instruments.

A word about valves. I’ve spoken of the limitation of bugles to five notes, and that horns only had more notes in the upper register. During the last century many inventors produced ideas

for adding valves to brass instruments. Now the standard arrangement is for three valves. When the middle one is depressed it brings into use an additional length of tubing that makes the instrument sound one semitone lower. The first valve brings in enough tubing to lower it one tone and the third valve enough for one and a semitone. The Prussian Guards band was the first to become enthusiastic about valves under Wilhelm Wieprecht in 1825. Civilian orchestras were more conservative and the players, not under orders, kept on longer with the natural instruments with which they were familiar.

Trumpets

Way back in the mists of the past man found he could make a noise with his lips against a hole at the end of a tube made of a tree branch, an ox horn with the tip burnt off, or even someone’s leg bone that had been opened Out to remove the marrow. That was the start of the brass, even before man could work metal.

By the Middle Ages we had a narrow cylindrical tube opening out into a bell in its last quarter and with a cup-shaped mouth-piece. This was the trumpet. It was largely an official instrument for heralds, armies, processions, watchmen and the church. In Germany its use was supposed to be controlled by the Imperial Guild of Trumpeters and Kettledrummers. It was kept for noble (i.e. military and state) purposes.

The notes that could be produced were few in the lower octave, but an eight-foot long tube in oval coils could sound consecutive notes in the higher register. It was here that Bach and Handel found it in the 18th century orchestra, where specialists in the top register known as the “clarino” register played the marvelous “obligati” that accompany the voice – “Let the Bright Seraphim” (with soprano voice) and “The Trumpet shall Sound” with the bass voice. During the 19th century the instrument altered, the length of a trumpet in B flat became 4ft. 6in. and three valves were added. That is the modern trumpet in orchestral and jazz use. It does not normally appear in British military bands and not at all in brass bands. The comet is used instead.

There are trumpets in British military use. Firstly the signaling trumpet of the cavalry, Royal Horse Artillery and the Royal Air Force. It is in E flat and is coiled to give an overall length of26in. to the instrument. Trumpet Major A. E. Close of the Life Guards has made a record and cassette of the trumpet calls for the Army. The Household Cavalry Trumpet has fewer coils (two instead of four) to make a longer instrument. Both types of trumpet may also carry a banner when used ceremonially. Then there are the fanfare trumpets. Superficially they resemble the old straight trumpets with banners hanging down, but have valves and coils. They are in E flat, B flat, B flat tenor and G. They are called “Aida” trumpets, and are generally associated with the Kneller Hall trumpeters.

Incidentally, the German trumpet in orchestras and bands has quite different valves, larger diameter tube coiled to a wider coil than British and French trumpets. It is held with coils horizontal and not vertical as ours are.

Cornet and Flugel Horn

The treble brass voice in the modem British military band is in B flat cornet. The cornet, flugel horn and orchestral trumpet are of the same pitch and that means a tube of about 4ft. 6in. long for all three instruments. “Cornet” means “little horn” and it still reckons to be more conical than the trumpet. It came into being in the 19th century and has always had valves. The flugel horn came from Austria in the 1930s. Flugel means “wing” in German and I think it was so named because a wing or outside (as in football) man played it.

All three instruments start off with a bore of ⁵A₆in. to %₆in. and end in a bell of Sin. A foot from the bell the flugel will be one. diameter, compared with less than ³/₄in. in the trumpet and cornet. The mouth-piece of the trumpet is more cup-shaped and that of the flugel more conical with that of the cornet in between. In appearance the trumpet’s coiling is longer and narrower compared with the squatter cornet. The flugel is more open and has the valves nearer the mouthpiece so that it can become much broader in the last third. It is really a valved bugle. This gives it a distinctive mellow tone and encourages its use in the brass band in sad “Send in the Clowns” type solos.

As for the difference between the B flat cornet and the B flat trumpet, Philip Bate on page 87 of The Trumpet and Trombone says “The tone of the cornet, while warm and appealing when well-played, lacks the heroic quality of the true trumpet.” Norman del Mar (AnatomyoftheOrchestra, p.27⁶) says “The smooth mellower tone quality of the cornet has also come to have less significance in the present refinement of orchestral brass playing.” Adam Carse: Musical Wind Instruments after various nasty quotes (e.g. Mahan, “The cornet is a true bastard”) says on p.250; “It is not the instrument that deserves such epithets.”

Harry Mortimer in his autobiography On Brass tells on p.76 how Sir Hamilton Harty when conductor of the Hall~ Orchestra asked him to take his cornet and trumpet into a side room of the Manchester Art Club and play a trumpet piece six times whilst a jury of orchestral experts listened. No one could tell correctly which instrument he used each time and most were wrong every time. The quality of tone and style depends on the player’s technique and desire rather than on the slight physical differences between the instruments.

A military band of 24 would have four or five comets used on two or three parts. They share the main melodies with the clarinets and also play on their own in contrast to the woodwind. There are no flugel horns in British military bands, though they are used on the continent. The instruments of the Italian Bersaglien are of the flugel horn type. There is one in a brass band, and they are used in jazz. There is a small cornet in E flat that has one part in the brass band to strengthen the top notes and to add flute-like phrases. It is not used in the military band.

The tenor horn in E flat and the baritone in B flat

With the invention and then development of valves in the last century many people invented new instruments. Adolphe Sax who invented the saxophone in the 1840s at the same time gave his name to a series of brass instruments he called “saxhorns”. He was only one of many makers. There were law suits over infringement of patents. Anyway, a series or rather two series of instruments grew up, one of which was of much wider bore than the other. Both have mouthpieces shaped between the cup of the old trumpet and the cone of the French horn. Both bores are conical. The range is from E flat – in unison with the B flat clarinet, soprano sax and soprano cornet – to as big a contrabass as could be lifted. Only one or two of broad and narrower bores are in common use.

Today, the British, particularly through the firm of Bloosey and Hawkes, have established themselves as leading manufacturers of such instruments. (Boosey first published scores of Soldiers Songs and Marches for full band in 1846). The larger brass are all of an upright pattern with the lower part in front of or above the right shoulder. They have three piston valves worked by the right hand and in the larger sizes may have a compensating valve (see musical dictionary) worked by the left hand.

Many foreign makes have different types of valve and slope the instrument to be in front of the left shoulder. The bells have been directed all ways, some forward, to left, to right and some facing back. Names have been and are, just as numerous and confusing. It is really necessary to state pitch as well as name, as the “alto” of one country becomes the “tenor” of another.

The E flat tenor hom, as we call it, is 7ft. of tubing starting at %in. and expanding to l½in. a foot from the bell which is 6in. or 7in. across. It is much broader of bore than trumpet, cornet and French horn. The tone blends well with the cornet and more particularly with the flugel, and with the larger brass. It is not distinctive, and whilst it does some solo work in the brass band, it cannot penetrate any but the lightest accompaniment. It is much easier and lighter than the French horn and may just about be played one-handed. Therefore, the Household Cavalry favor a pair when mounted. Otherwise British military bands do not use it. In brass bands there are three.

Conn have made a variety of the tenor ham in America called the Mellophone. It has the bell facing forward like a trumpet and was designed for jazz use. Gordon Higginbottom, the English tenor horn virtuoso, uses it at times with brass bands and I think it may appear in military use, though not in British bands, only American.

The B flat baritone – an octave lower than the cornet – is of similar proportions to the tenor horn, but is 9′t. of tubing. It is essentially a “filling in” instrument and very rarely has a solo. It left the military band at the end of the twenties, and parts for it that I found in some R.A.F. music during the last war we gave to the tenor sax -also in B flat.

Trombones

Percy Scholes tells of a Shah of Persia who when taken to a concert in Britain enjoyed watching magicians who swallowed brass rods and pulled them up again.” This was the trombone.

The instrument seems to go back to the 15th century and a 1551 example exists. Called the “sackbut” it lacked all the stays of the present instrument and the bell was much more gradual. It was an instrument of processional music and much liked by the Church, especially on the Continent. It was played quietly to blend with voices.

The Germans are going to be roused at the Day of Judgment by the trombone. Where the Bible says in First Corinthians, Chapter 15, verse 52, “The trumpet shall sound, the dead shall be raised incorruptible,” Luther’s translation has “the trombone shall sound.” Hence Handel wrote a wonderful trumpet obbligato to go with these words, whereas Brahms in his “German Requiem” has a trombone choir.

In the 18th century the trombone almost disappeared and for the Handel Celebrations of 1784 they had to go to His Majesty’s Private Military Band for players and instruments.

The tenor trombone in “B” flat consists of about nine feet of tubing with two hairpin bends,-

the internal diameter of less than half-an-inch in some models can be up to ⁹A₆in. in others. The bell develops rapidly like a trumpet. The sides must be parallel so that one of the hairpins can slide to and fro over two parallel open-ended tubes. Thus the slide can lengthen the amount of tubing in use to seven positions just as valves do in the other brass.

I would suggest to modelers and manufacturers that apiece of bent wire will make a better trombone than some of the ugly thick castings one sees. A separate sprue may be needed to make the bell.

During the 19th century and until after World War II the British, but not the French, also used a longer lO ft tubed brass trombone in G. A wooden handle fixed by a swivel to the slide enabled the player to reach the seventh position. Since the fifties this has been replaced by a trombone with an extra coil or two of tube over the player’s left shoulder with a thumb valve to bring it into use when needed. Thus it is a ‘B” flat tenor until depressing the valve puts it into “F”. A broad bore is used. The lyre to hold the music card is at the end of a seven-inch bracket fixed to the stationary bit of tube by the mouthpiece. The mouthpiece is deep and fairly conical.

French, Italian and Belgian bands have fancy trombones with red, green and gold serpent’s heads with gaping mouths instead of bells.

The slide that so impressed the Shah is not invariably part of the trombone. Diverse types have been made with valves like the rest of the brass. They have been found easier, especially on horseback where the horse would not be disconcerted by the moving slide over his head. They are still in use on the continent, but rarely anywhere in Britain.

Trombones are the only wind instruments that are generally used in all three combinations of orchestra, military band and brass band. Parts are written for first and second and tenor bass. They have a majestic sound and can be quiet or, especially if horns are added, can proclaim a theme powerfully against all the rest of the band. Note the Tsarist National Anthem at the end of Tchaikowski’s 1812 Overture. They also take solo parts. They can glissando or slide from one note to another with perfection by moving the slide whilst the note is still being played. Hear this in The Old Grey Mare.

Euphonium

 

The euphonium takes its name from the Greek to mean sweet sound”. The Americans and Canadians call it the “baritone” and confuse us. It is nine feet of tubing coiled in an oval with the bell in front of the player’s right shoulder. It has three valves for the right-hand and the better ones have a compensating valve (see musical dictionary) for the left-hand. The conical bore is broad especially after the last bend. It is folded to give an instrument 23in. long with an 11 in. bell. It developed in the l830s.

Will model makers please note that there is only one size of euphonium. A narrower nine-foot instrument is a baritone, a shorter instrument is a tenor horn and a longer one is a bass. (They are all part of the saxophone family).

The tone is horn-like but fuller, and it cannot give the trumpet like rasp that the trombone can. It plays the bass part or takes the main counter melodies in the tenor register just as the cello does in the orchestra. Bassoons and lower saxophones may reinforce it in these parts. There are two parts for it in the brass band and usually one in the military band score. The military wear covers over the lower half of the instrument. See what I say about basses.

Serpent and friends

In the Middle Ages there existed a series of instruments made of wooden pieces bound with leather, holes down the side like recorders, and with ivory mouthpieces something like a trumpets. They were “comets”. The largest size developed in the 16th century and was given four bends so that it looked like a fat snake. The cup-shaped ivory mouthpiece led to a ½in. diameter brass tube. This fitted into the instrument itself, made of very thin wooden sections bound together by leather and increasing in size up to 4in. It was eight feet of tube. The outside was painted black and the inside red. The end could be bound with brass and there were six finger holes in the side of the tube.

The Army got it from the Church and added finger keys in the late l8thcentury.Strenthening stays were fitted and it was supported by a sling round the player’s neck. The Army held it on the slope to the right so that the player could march. In theory it cannot be played in tune, but it was the only bass available with a less reedy, but stronger voice than the bassoon. Actually, by lip work and skill, it did play its part until new instruments superseded it in the 19th century. Historex make a model.

One method of improving on the serpent was to make wooden instruments of two straight conical tubes and join them at the bottom like an enlarged bassoon butt. Finger holes and keys were made on the sides and the cup mouthpiece was fixed by curled brass tubes to the wooden portion. Some had serpent heads instead of a bell. The bass horn and Russian bassoon were names given to these attempts to find a better bass.

Ophicleide

The Ophicleide takes its name from the Greek for “keyed snake”. Then, in 1817 Jean-Hilaire Aste, known as Halary, invented a new instrument that he patented in France in 1821. Like Sax, later in the century, he made his instrument in many sizes, but it was the bass in “B” flat that was most useful. Nine feet of conical brass tubing given a hairpin head at the bottom and two halves laid close together side by side, the wider part longer than the other. Into this narrower section led three feet of tube coiled in a circle from the mouthpiece, which was a brass cup. It was 7/8 in. in the coils from the mouth. piece expanding to l¼in. where it entered the main tube. This tube expanded to 2′/₂in. at the hairpin bend and 8 in. or 9 in. at the bell. The whole instrument was 3ft. to 4ft. overall. Large holes on the sides were closed by padded covers. The materials used did tend to perish and to leak.

It was, nevertheless, an improvement on the serpent and though it rarely entered the orchestra, military and brass bands welcomed it. In Brass Instruments Baines says, on page 198, that the last British bandsman to play one was “Bandsman Lydyard of the 1st Battalion of the Connaught Rangers marching with his band across India down to Bombay in 1914, to embark for Europe.”

Bass – or tuba, or bombardon and the Helicon and Sousaphone

As valves developed for the brass, so valved bass instruments replaced the side-holed instruments such as serpents and ophicleides. Firstly, they gave a better and stronger note and secondly, they were more robust. Large key pads on the ophicleides were difficult to keep air-tight. Furthermore, it was now possible to build large instruments that could double the bass of the bassoon, trombone and euphonium an octave lower, just as the string bass doubled the cello. Again Wieprecht was to the fore in using them and again Sax to the fore in making them, though Cerveny of Bohemia influenced development in Austria and Germany as much as Sax influenced French, Belgian and English makers.

Britain has two sizes of bass for brass and military bands. The smaller in “E” flat, an octave below the tenor horn, is l4ft. of tubing coiled ovally to form an instrument just under 3ft. long and ending in a l5in. bell. The larger in “B” flat two octaves below the cornet and one below the euphonium has l8ft. of tubing. Both have deep cup/cone mouthpieces and are broad-bored conical instruments with three valves for the right hand and maybe a compensating valve for the left hand. Thirty-six-foot long tubes have been made, but have not gained their place.

I call these instruments “brass basses” or “basses”. Note the spelling model makers, please, it is Bass not Base. Bombardon is another name. “Tuba” is the name used in the orchestra where it is used as a fourth member of the trombone choir. Sometimes orchestras use neither of the two band sizes, but one in between, in “F”.

British instruments slope up to the right with the bell above the player’s right shoulder. Army bandsmen have black, white or brown covers for the lower part of the instrument to prevent rubbing on brass buttons. They may also wear an apron to match their uniform.

German instruments have the bell above the left shoulder. Stowasser made a circular bass in Vienna in 1549 that went round the player’s body and rested on the left shoulder, with the bell above and in front of the head. They called it a “Helicon”. Conn of America make a similar instrument that they developed in 1898 for John Philip Sousa (1854-1932), director of the American Marine band. It is the Sousaphone and can be had with a 26in. fibre-glass bell. British bands have used circular basses. Simkin has a picture of the Royal Marine Light Infantry in the 1890s.

A military band of 24 would have two basses and a brass band would have four – two “E” flat and two “B” flat. They play the same line except where the “B” flat drops an octave lower. For concert work the military band often replaces one bass by a string bass. Here I may mention that British military bandsmen can play more than one instrument and can thus form dance bands and small orchestras.

Drums and Percussion will be featured in a individual article

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The Schools of Music

MILITARY SCHOOLS OF MUSIC

 

Kneller hall Royal Military School of music

US Army School of Music

The Irish Defense Forces School of Music

Military School of Music-Finland

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Pipers and Pipe Bands 2

A pipe band is a musical ensemble consisting of pipers and drummers. The term used by military pipe bands,Pipes and Drums, is also common.

The most common form of pipe band, the Scottish pipe band, consists of a section of pipers, a section of snare drummers (often referred to as ’side drummers’), several tenor drummers and a single bass drummer. The entire drum section is known collectively as the drum corps. The tenor drummers and bass drummer are referred to collectively as the ‘bass section’ (or in North America as the ‘midsection’). The band follows the direction of the pipe major and when on parade the band may be led by a drum major, who   directs the band with a mace.

Standard instrumentation for a pipe band is from 6 to 25 pipers, 3 to 10 side drummers, 1 to 4 tenor drummers and 1 bass drummer. Occasionally this instrumentation is augmented to include additional instruments (such as additional percussion instruments or keyboard instruments), however this is typically done only in concert settings.

 

 

  History of the Pipe Band

The pipe band began life in the military, but its origins are obscure, and historical records exist mostly in hints gleaned from contemporary regimental records that had no direct interest in pipes.

It is known that pipers served in regiments from the earliest times; the Royal Scots have records referring to pipers dating back to the early seventeenth century. Where pipers were employed as pipers (rather than just happening to be a soldier that also was able to play), they were employed by the officers of the regiments as private pipers. This situation continued until the 1840s, when Queen Victoria’s enthusiasm for all things Highlandwas instrumental in the War Office’s decision that each regiment be allowed five pipers and a Pipe Major, which continues to be all that the British Army provides funds for to this day.

By this time, pipers were already playing together with drummers, probably modeling themselves on the fife and drum bands which had existed in Switzerland since the fifteenth century. Drumming is, of course, as ancient as the concept of formed military units, and their original purpose on the battlefield was to signal tactical movements and keep cadence on the march.

At the time of  the Crimean War, pipe bands were well established. The first civilian organizations to adopt pipe bands were police and fire brigade bands; even today, several forces maintain bands that play to a very high standard.

By the time World War I broke out, the pipe band represented a popular image of Scotland, both internally and externally.

Military pipers were killed and injured in significant numbers in the Great War, before the War Office banned the practice of playing in the trenches in 1915. The ban was often not observed; Canadian piper James Richardsonwas awarded the Victoria Cross for playing in action in 1916. Although that ban still stands today, pipes have occasionally played into battle, notably at El Alamein, Dieppe, the Normandy beaches, and the crossing of the Rhine.

Military pipers have also served in both Gulf Wars.

WWI also created a huge demand for pipers, and huge numbers had been taught to play by the end of the war. This and the similar effort which went on during WWII ensured that there was a critical mass of people able to play and create a thriving pipe band scene from the 1950s onwards.

 

 

 

  Military Pipes and Drums

In military and Para-military organizations the term Pipes and Drums is used when referring to an ensemble of Highland bagpipes and drums, however the majority of modern military bands are quite similar to their civilian counterparts in terms of their instrumentation and music. Many of the same standard tunes are found in both the military and civilian pipe band tune books, and many similarities exist in terms of musical style, historical and musical influences, and dress and deportment.

Unlike civilian pipers however, pipers in military bands have additional military responsibilities. To-day some  musicians in British Army bands are normally required to take on a secondary role in the battlefield as medics. However, in most cases the pipes and drums in a Scottish or Irish infantry regiment constitute a machine gunplatoon (as the Corps of Drums does in an English or Welsh infantry regiment). As a result, in addition to being musicians, members of the pipes and drums must also be qualified fighting soldiers. Unlike musicians, who belong to the Corps of Army Music,  where they are full time musicians, the pipers and drummers belong to the regiment in which they serve and are infantrymen first and foremost.

The British Army runs its own pipes and drums training facility, the Army School of Bagpipe Music and Highland Drumming, in Edinburgh, Scotland. To be qualified as a Pipe Major or Drum Major in the pipes and drums of a regiment of the British Army, candidates must successfully pass a series of courses at the school.

 

 

Pipe Band Music

The music played by pipe bands generally consists of music from the Scottish tradition, either in the form of traditional folk tunes and dances or music from the Western tradition that has been adapted for pipes. Examples of typical pipe bands forms include marches, slow airs, up-tempo jigs and reels, and strathspeys. In recent years there has been a great deal of emphasis placed on new forms, especially the suite. A good example of a suite for pipe band is Don Thompson’s composition Journey to Skye (1987).

In conventional pipe band music, each section of instruments has a different role in the music. Generally speaking, the pipers deliver the melodic and harmonic material, while the side drummers provide a rhythmically interactive accompaniment part. The tenor drummers provide the fundamental rhythmic pulse with the bass drummer anchoring the rhythms and providing a strong and steady beat. The roles of each section are broken down further below.

 

 

 

The Pipe Section

Since the bagpipe is the only one of the pipe band instruments that is capable of producing distinct pitches, the pipers in a pipe band are responsible for providing all of the melodic and harmonic material in the music. Generally speaking, all of the pipers play a unison melody on their chanters, with their drones providing the harmonic support and filling out the sound. These unison melodies are often quite complex and demanding. It is this complexity that provides much of the musical interest.

When harmony is written within the pipe section, it is usually only two-part harmony, and is usually scored in a 2:1 ratio (with two thirds of the players on the melody, one third of the players on the harmony part). Because of the limited range of the chanter, the harmonic possibilities are somewhat limited, but well-written harmony in a pipe band setting can be quite effective. Pipe band harmony is sometimes referred to as “seconds”, although this simply refers to a second part and not to the interval of a second. In fact, intervals of a second are rarely found in pipe band harmony parts, except in passing. Instead, it is the consonant intervals which are stressed, perfect fourths and fifths, and even more commonly, parallel thirds and sixths.

 

 

 

  The Drum Corps

The drum corps of a pipe band consists of a section of drummers playing Highland snare drums and the bass section (see below). In the early days of pipe bands, rope tension snare drums were common, but as the technology evolved, so did the music. Pipe band drummers now play on drums with very tight, knitted kevlar heads, designed for maximum tension to create a very crisp and strident sound. Due to technological innovations and changing aesthetics, this crispness has become an integral part of the pipe band sound. Since today’s drum is so facile as a result of its design, players are often able to execute extremely complicated and technically demanding rudimental patterns.

The pipe band drum corps is responsible for both supporting the piping with a solid rhythmic foundation and sense of pulse, and creating an interesting contrapuntal line unto itself. The line played by the drum corps (referred to as the “drum score”) is usually based on rudimental patterns and can often be quite involved, with solo, unison and contrapuntal passages throughout. A popular pattern in many scores is for the lead drummer to play a phrase, and the section to play in response. This technique is known as “the chips”.

While standard practice in pipe bands is for the pipe section to perform the traditional or standard arrangements of the melodies, including even the gracenotes, drum scores are very often composed by the lead drummer of the band. In competition, one of the adjudicators grades a band on how creative their scores are and how well they fit the piping – this aspect of the judging is known as ‘ensemble’.

 

 

 

The Bass Section

The bass section usually consists of a section of tenor drummers and a bass drummer. Their role is to provide rhythmic support to the entire ensemble. In this respect, the bass section allows the drum corps to delegate their timekeeping responsiblities and allows more freedom in the drum scores.

Generally, the bass drum provides a steady pulse, playing on the downbeat and on the strong beats of the bar, and the tenors support that pulse, often adding supporting beats, accents and dynamic interest.

Tenor drums in their modern form are a relatively new addition to the pipe band. While pipe bands of yesteryear would often include tenor drummers, they would usually be “swinging tenors”, players who would swing their sticks for elaborate visual effect but who would rarely play. Today’s tenor drummers play pitched drums, and careful thought is given as to which pitches to use and at which times. In some cases, five or six tenor drummers have been used, providing a palette of individual pitches for use in a variety of musical situations. The swinging also known as flourishing has developed somewhat into an art form with drummers playing and swinging in unison or sequential flows.

 

 

 

  Competition & The World Pipe Band Championships

Main article: World Pipe Band Championships

Competition is a primary focus for many pipe bands throughout the world. Since 1930, when the Scottish band association (today known as the Royal Scottish Pipe Band Association) was formed, there has been an event known as the World Pipe Band Championships held in Glasgow every August. For competitive bands, the title of World Champion is highly coveted, and this event is seen as the culmination of a year’s worth of preparation, rehearsal and practice.

The entirety of the World Championships takes place on one day in August, on Glasgow Green. Typically several hundred bands attend, travelling from all over the world. Bands arrive early and are required to perform in a qualifying round which takes place in the morning. The top bands at the end of the qualifying round play in a second event in the afternoon to determine an aggregate winner. To win, Grade One bands must perform in two events, a March, Strathspey & Reel event (known as a “set” or “MSR”) which consists of three pre-arranged tunes, and a Medley event, which consists of a short selection of music chosen and arranged by the band.

 

 

See also

 

	Great Highland Bagpipe
	Royal Scottish Pipe Band Association
	List of bagpipers
	List of pipe bands
	Types of bagpipes
	Canntaireachd

Canadian Bagpipes American Brass The Canadian Scottish Regiment (Princess Mary’s) Pipes & Drums & The Third U.S. Marine Aircraft Wing Band Listen to this collaboration of two great countries.

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Marches of the British Forces

Marches of the British Forces     Royal Navy British Army Household Cavalry Royal Armoured Corps   Infantry   Support Arms and Services Royal Air Force

 Royal Navy

• Royal Navy - Heart of Oak
• Royal Marines - A Life on the Ocean Wave (QuickMarch); Preobrajensky (Slow)

 

British Army

   Household Cavalry

• The Life Guards - Milanollo (Quick); Life Guards Slow March (Slow)
• The Blues and Royals (Royal Horse Guards and 1st Dragoons) - Quick March of the Blues and Royals (Quick); Slow March of the Blues and Royals (Slow)

 

Royal Armoured Corps

• 1st The Queen’s Dragoon Guards - Regimental March of 1st The Queen’s Dragoon Guards (Quick); 1st Dragoon Guards and 2nd Dragoon Guards Slow March (Slow)
• The Royal Scots Dragoon Guards (Carabiniers and Greys) - The 3DGs (Quick); The Garb of Auld Gaul (Slow)
• The Royal Dragoon Guards - Fare Thee Well Inniskilling (Quick); 4th Dragoon Guards/7th Dragoon Guards (Slow)
• The Queen’s Royal Hussars (Queen’s Own and Royal Irish) - Regimental Quick March of the Queen’s Royal Hussars (Quick); 3rd Hussars Slow March/Litany of Loretto/The Garb of Auld Gaul/March of the Scottish Archers (Slow)
• 9th/12th Royal Lancers (Prince of Wales’s) - God Bless the Prince of Wales (Quick); Men of Harlech/Coburg (Slow)
• The King’s Royal Hussars - The King’s Royal Hussars (Quick); Coburg (Slow)
• The Light Dragoons - Balaklava (Quick); Denmark (Slow)
• The Queen’s Royal Lancers - Stable Jacket (Quick); Omdurman (Slow)
• The Royal Tank Regiment - My Boy Willie (Quick); The Royal Tank Regiment Slow March (Slow)
• The Royal Yeomanry - Farmer’s Boy (Quick)
• The Queen’s Own Yeomanry - D’ye Ken John Peel (Quick)

 

  Infantry

• Grenadier Guards - The British Grenadiers (Quick); Scipio (Slow)
• Coldstream Guards - Milanollo (Quick); Figaro (Slow)
• Scots Guards - Heilan Laddie (Quick); The Garb of Auld Gaul (Slow)
• Irish Guards - St Patrick’s Day (Quick); Let Erin Remember (Slow)
• Welsh Guards - Rising of the Lark (Quick); Men of Harlech (Slow)
• The Royal Regiment of Scotland - Scotland the Brave (Quick); The Garb of Auld Gaul (Slow)
• The Princess of Wales’s Royal Regiment (Queen’s and Royal Hampshires) - The Farmer’s Boy/Soldiers of the Queen (Quick); The Minden Rose (Slow)
• The Duke of Lancaster’s Regiment (King’s, Lancashire and Border) - King’s Own Royal Border Regiment March (Quick); The Red Rose (Slow)
• The Royal Regiment of Fusiliers - The British Grenadiers (Quick); Rule Britannia (Slow)
• The Royal Anglian Regiment - Rule Britannia/Speed the Plough (Quick); The Northamptonshire (Slow)
• The Yorkshire Regiment (14th/15th, 19th and 33rd/76th Foot) - Ça Ira (Quick); The Duke of York (Slow)
• The 22nd (Cheshire) Regiment - Wha Wadna Fecht for Charlie (Quick); The 22nd Regiment 1772 (Slow)
• The Royal Welsh - Men of Harlech (Quick); Forth to the Battle (Slow)
• The Royal Irish Regiment (27th (Inniskilling), 83rd, 87th and Ulster Defence Regiment) - Killaloe (Quick); Eileen Alannah (Slow);
• The Worcestershire and Sherwood Foresters Regiment (29th/45th Foot) - Young May Moon/The Royal Windsor (Quick)
• The Staffordshire Regiment (The Prince of Wales’s) - The Staffordshire Regiment (Quick); God Bless the Prince of Wales (Slow)
• The Parachute Regiment - Ride of the Valkyries (Quick); Pomp and Circumstance No 4 (Slow)
• The Royal Gurkha Rifles - Bravest of the Brave (Quick); God Bless the Prince of Wales (Slow); Keel Row (Double Past)
• The Rifles - Mechanised Infantry (Quick); Old Salamanca (Slow); Keel Row/Road to the Isles (Double Past)
• The Special Air Service - Marche du Regiment Parachutiste Belge (Quick); Lili Marlene (Slow)
• Royal Gibraltar Regiment - The British Grenadiers

 

Support Arms and Services

• Royal Regiment of Artillery - Royal Artillery Quick March
• Honourable Artillery Company - The British Grenadiers (Quick);The Duke of York (Slow)
• Corps of Royal Engineers - Wings/The British Grenadiers
• Royal Corps of Signals - Bygone Dull Care
• Army Air Corps - Recce Flight (Quick); Theviesh Magpie (Slow)
• Royal Army Chaplains’ Department - Prince of Denmark’s March (Trumpet Voluntary)
• Royal Logistic Corps - On Parade
• Royal Army Medical Corps - Here’s A Health Unto His Majesty
• Corps of Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers - Lillibulero
• Adjutant General’s Corps - Pride of Lions
• Royal Army Veterinary Corps - Regimental March of the Royal Army Veterinary Corps
• Small Arms School Corps - March of the Bowmen
• Royal Army Dental Corps - Green Facings
• Intelligence Corps - Rose and Laurel
• Army Physical Training Corps - Be Fit
• Queen Alexandra’s Royal Army Nursing Corps - Gray and Scarlet

 

  Royal Air Force

• Royal Air Force - Royal Air Force March Past
• Royal Air Force Regiment - Holyrood

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