Subject: Re: marching band questions
Stuart E Rice
Date: Thu, 25 Mar 1999 22:35:34 -0600
From: DALE RIEBESEHL <pm-...@execpc.com>
Organization: ExecPC Internet - Milwaukee, WI
Dale wrote:
>
>chris00 wrote:
>
>>Hello,
>>
>>My name is Chris Kunkel. To try out for drum major at my high
>>school we have to answer some questions. I was having trouble with
>>some of the following ones. I would appreciate any help you could
>>give. Thank you for your time.
I'd be happy to. I'll take the easy ones at the end first and work my
way backward. If this gets widely circulated out there, let your
director know I'd be pleased to help him with more questions. I'll leave
Dale's answers here for reference.
>>10. Why does a band counter march?
>
>to change its direction 180 degree
The force primarily responsible was the School's Band Contest of America,
first held in 1923 with 30 bands who were "required to compete against
the traffic and railroad noises of downtown Chicago as they marched from
Navy Pier to the bandstand erected between Michigan Avenue and the
Illinois Central Railroad" for the $1000.00 prize in each of three
divisions. Thirteen states held the competition in 1924. Regionals
followed in 1925, with 315 bands participating in 1926. All but 4 states
were represented in 1932 when 1,000 bands participated (Holtz, "Journal
of Research in Music Education 10(1).
As you can imagine, this explosion resulted in towns with irate drivers
and congested streets. Bands and other marching units in this common
circumstance moved their practices, competitions, and eventually their
performances to the gridiron (the marching band and football, less
popular than today, were still on their honeymoon back then, so they were
welcome). There they employed the counter-march to eliminate the problem
of "running out of street".
>>9. What is a "touch of blue"?
>
>the spat from that Michigan baritone player that just hit you in the ars
A Penn State University Blue Band Majorette (Randy, krat...@westol.com)
>>8. What universities band is known as "the show band of the south"?
>
>Ohio Universtiy
Alabama A&M (http://ubox.aamu.edu/~tvickers/aamuband.html)
>>7. What two universities annually compete in the "battle of the
bands"?
>
>Ohio State/Michigan
"The Grambling band was one of the founders of a great college football
tradition -- the Battle of the Bands which takes place at halftime of
nearly every Southwestern Athletic Conference game, where Grambling and
the other great southern bands like Florida A&M and Southern take the
field to out-step and out-style each other"
(http://espn.go.com/editors/fantasy/college/bandbios1.html#gra).
Southern University and Grambling State University appears to be the most
popular rivalry among those bands Grambling challenges throughout its
season, though I cannot determine if this constitutes the bulk of the
issue or not. It has also been suggested that the Battle of the Bands is
a centerpiece of the Bayou Classic.
On a related note, ESPN and Levi's 501 jeans currently sponsor a "Battle
of the Marching Bands" sometimes referred to as "Battle of the Bands".
Princeton won this year over Stanford 53.6% to 46.4% among a field of 16
(http://espn.go.com/editors/fantasy/college/bands.html).
>>What is their beat per minute?
>
>142
240 b.p.m., according to Randy (krat...@westol.com)
>>6. What was the name of this band?
"Gilmore's Band" (formerly known as "The Twenty-Second Regiment Band of
New York"), not to be confused with the pre-Civil War "Gilmore's Band,"
formerly known as Boston Brigade Band until 1859, formerly known as The
Green Dragon Band until 1820, formerly known as The Massachusetts Band
from 1783 until 1812.
>HM Band of the Royal Marines
Again, any form of "introduction" of an ensemble by such a name is not
likely. "HM" is short for "His/Her Majesty's," and a British band by
this name did not make the cut for Gilmore's international band festival
(the group, purportedly organized in 1874, came two years too late anyway
- the festival was held in 1872).
>>5. Who introduced the first full scale band in the US in 1874?
I'm not very confident about the accuracy of the date in that question -
I can't confirm it, and my chronology and references show nothing of note
during that year specifically. I'm even less certain about what
constitutes a "full scale" band.
My only guess would be Patrick Sarsfield Gilmore (1829-1892), born in
Ireland and moving to Massachusetts via Canada at an early age. He was
considered the "founder of the concert band in the United States," and
after organizing a Boston band festival in 1872, he organized the band of
the twenty-second Regiment of New York - probably very near or during the
year 1874.
This band kick-started the post-Civil War band movement which didn't
grind to a halt until the 1920's with the phonograph and motion pictures.
Not only was this the "finest yet heard in the country" at the time
(Goldman), but its instrumentation, gradually enlarged, "compared more
favorably with the best bands anywhere in the world," and this following
his 1872 festival which brought to Boston celebrated bands from England,
Germany, France, and Ireland.
>The Royal Marines
... regardless of the ambiguity of the date, I'm more inclined to believe
the question is asking "what individual" introduced the full-scale band,
rather than what organization or group of individuals.
>>4. What painting epitomizes the beginnings of marching bands in
>>America?
>
>The Thin Red Line
:> If they'd have asked "what *picture* epitomizes ...," that would have
been a little more interesting to consider.
The correct answer is "Spirit of ‘76," from the original by A.M. Willard
(so signed and dated "1876"), now hanging at Abbot Hall, Marblehead,
Massachusetts. The painting is also known as "Yankee Doodle," and was
"presented to the Town Hall in 1880 by General John Devereux whose son
was the model for the drummer boy" (New York Graphic Society, Ltd.,
1964).
>>3. What two instruments comprised this band?
>
>fifes and drums
The United States Marine Band began with "thirty-two drums and fifes"
(Graham), though I can't speak for the "American" Coldstream Guards.
>>2. What was the first marching band in America?
Practically impossible to answer, since information on bands before 1800
is sketchy at best. I'll assuming we're talking about America the
nation, not the continent, by the way. A director would probably want to
hear the answer "The United States Marine Band" (1798). However, in
1783, the Massachusetts Band of Boston became technically the first
American band after the Revolutionary War, by most accounts, and thus in
all likelihood the first recorded band to march in this nation. This may
be the more correct answer, but based on the inferences of question #3
and the sketchy history of the Massachusetts Band, I'd stick with the
U.S. Marine Band as the correct answer.
>The Coldstream Guards
The Coldstream Regiment of Foot Guards were European, not American, and
came under English rule in 1660. However, their band of German-imported
players was also introduced in Europe (presumably England) by the Duke of
York in 1783 (Goldman, 1961).
>>1. who organized the first band after the revolutionary war and in
>>what City?
I'll hijack this tough question and leave it to your judgement. Feel
free to avail yourself to the research below to help you make a more
educated guess.
A. If the question refers to the first international band of note
thereafter, the individual, Bernard Sarrette, organized "The National
Guard Band" (1789) in Paris.
B. If the question refers to the first national band of note thereafter,
the individual, President John Adams, approved The United States Marine
Band (1798), stationed in Philadelphia.
C. If the question refers to the first national band of reliable account
thereafter, the individual, not well documented, organized "The
Massachusetts Band" (1783) in Boston.
* I would not suggest option A because the question infers an American
band (given the context of the American Revolution).
* I would not suggest option B because it was not truly the first band
organized thereafter, and its first recorded performance is dated no
earlier than 1800.
* I would not suggest option C because (1) its founder is not well
documented, (2) its history is jaded with numerous and at times mythical
sounding names from The Massachusetts Band, The Green Dragon Band, The
Boston Brigade Band, and Gilmore's Band, (3) Gilmore's Band was disbanded
after legendary service the Civil War and reformed again with the same
name not in Massachusetts but as an attachment to the Twenty-Second
Regiment of New York, and (4) the question may be referring to the French
Revolution, or simply to any band anywhere in the world.
The Revolutionary War ended after the surrender of Cornwallis, when
Yorktown's garrison marched out and laid down all their arms October 19,
1781. "To all intents and purposes the war was over" (The Harper
Encyclopedia of Military History, 4th ed. 1993). Hence, the answer could
be Boston. But prestige tends to have its say in the history books, and
that's the game we play in school.
We could assume the question refers to the first *famous* American band
(U.S. Marine Band), for one reason, because it is well known among band
historians as pivotal, or at least precedent-setting in American *band*
history (i.e. "concert bands," the way music educators like to think of
them)
The United States Marine Band, organized in 1798 more by the signature of
President John Adams than anything else, really. "One Marine Band unit,
stationed in Philadelphia under Colonel William Ward Burrows, became the
nucleus of the now famous Marine Band. Drum Major William Farr was
appointed its leader" (Graham). Its first performance came as early as
1800 (Goldman, 1961).
The only comparably important event came *before* 1781, when Josiah Flagg
formed the first American band in 1773, references to which disappear
thereafter. Flagg gave a series of concerts at Boston's Faneuil Hall
with an American band of about 50 musicians patterned after the British
model (Force, "British band Concepts In America," 1967).
That was how it was - everyone borrowed from everyone. America borrowed
its knowledge of Bands from the English, who borrowed theirs to a great
extent from the French and German, and vice-versa no doubt. There seems
to have been a major coalescence in Europe, however (Colwell, "The
Teaching of Instrumental Music," 1969) "Bands as we know them today seem
to have stemmed from the formation of the forty-five-piece band of the
National Guard in Paris in 1789".
This unit was established by Bernard Sarrette (itself partly a product of
"fifes, drums and trumpets associated with European courts and armies,"
and partly a product of secular music of the sixteenth and seventeenth
centuies, according to Goldman). Though it dissolved in three years, its
members formed the nucleus of what became the French National
Conservatory (founded in 1795).
Sarrette's National Guard in Paris (1789), a product of the French
Revolution "believed by some to be the forerunner of the band as is known
in the United States" (Yarberry, "Journal of Band Research 14(2). But
would the question have specified the "French Revolution" if that were
the case? How important was it in the development of bands?
The success and influence of this organization would seem to have
something to do with the force of King Louis XIV (1643-1715), who
employed Lully to compose for and organize "the first regularly
constituted military bands of which we have record" (Goldman). The
development of band instrumentation may have been as much a result of
getting a nudge in the right direction at the right time by Lully as it
does with its own exploration and shaping forces.
From this perspective, "the tentative beginning of the military band lies
in the early 17th century, but is definitely established under the
influence and guidance of Louis XIV and Frederick the Great, King of
Prussia (1740-1786)" (Ross-Robertson, The Encyclopedia of Drum and Bugle
Corps," 1966).
By the time of the American Revolution, British military bands had
accompanied the larger number of troops brought to America for the French
and Indian War, "after which the typical regimental band in America
materializes". According to Erwin (Journal of American Culture 9(3),
most authorities agree American bands descend directly from these French
and English military bands (which had fairly standardized instrumentation
by then).
With so much band activity before the surrender of Cornwallis in 1781,
the question of the "first band after the war," marching or otherwise,
may seem quite trivial. One could conclude the first American band was
created as congressional legislation calling for a "drum major, fife
major, and thirty-two drums and fifes" (Graham, "Great Bands of America,"
1951) was signed into law by President of the United States, John Adams,
in 1798.
One could also assert, according to Erwin (Journal of American Culture
9(3) that the first American band after the Revolution turned up in one
of the many circuses with which they travelled as early as 1793 or "about
1840," according to another account (Goldman, 1961).
One one hand, many musicians would tell you the band as a musical
organization did not exist until it pulled up a chair and sat down to
making some serious music. In 1952, the Eastman School of Music's
Frederick Fennell and others like him decided the band could do exactly
that, and they divided the band in two - one concert band and one band
‘for everything else' (still, for most schools and colleges these
remained one and the same through the 1970's), with a fair amount of
transiency that we still see today.
On the other hand, you have those who feel "every band should be a
marching band and a good one" (Raymond Dvorak). And then you have dozens
of others who don't commit to either view, but rather sit on the fence
between them, which is where you find most semi-committed band programs
these days.
Yet to excusing himself from concert-marching band transiency, Fennell
went as far as to say that the concert band should feed yet another group
- the Wind Ensemble - for innovative and experimental music. "We do not
call our group a band simply because we do not believe that it is a band.
To qualify for that distinguished classification a group should be
uniformed in the tradition of the band, should be able to march and
perform in the open air in the tradition of that band, should perform the
traditional musical literature of the band, ..." etc. (Goldman, 1961).
The first Americans (or so we say) greatly simplified the issue.
Puritans and Quakers did not allow musical instruments. Nevertheless, by
the 1630's "the first band in New York City" (a trumpet, flute, violin,
and drum) gave free concerts at Bowling Green every Saturday afternoon,
after which bands (particularly in Boston) multiplied (Graham). However,
it is had to deny that these musicians would soon gravitate towards
either band or orchestral functions.
Wells asserts "the marching band in America probably had its inception
with the drum and fife corps around the time of the Revolutionary War; in
this capacity the band had an active role (as in European history) of
acompanying soldiers to battle" (1976). Regardless of instrumentation,
it remained a marching unit (band in Old English is another term for
"noise") of utilitarian function.
Note also that Wells uses the terms "marching band" and "band"
interchangeably. This was common before the Music Educator's National
Conference turned its back on the interdisciplinary ensemble in the
1990's. "It marched; it stood in public squares; it moved from place to
place. Apparently it took several centuries before it occurred to anyone
that a band might sit down to play, and that people might want to listen
..." (Goldman, 1961)
>The Band of the Canadian Black Watch: Maxville
"The Black Watch Pipes and Drums are the oldest organized
pipe band in North America," indeed
(http://www.blackwatchcanada.com/en/bands.htm), and could offer as valid
an answer as The Massachusetts Band (1783) of Boston. However, bagpipes
and drums, though imported to Canada early on, are not indigenous to
North America, and I would challenge the date of the Maxville Band's
formation with those of the 1630's (aforementioned) in New York and
Boston, which surely found purpose and occupation for marching long
before the eighteenth century.
More information on Black Watch is included below for those interested.
>>Thank you!!
>no problemo senior
>>Chris Kunkel
>>chr...@enter.net
Best of luck at your audition.
Stuart E. Rice
ser...@juno.com
Editor, Flatland Press
www.geocities.com/paris/metro/8226
Dedicated to the Advancement of the Marching Arts and Sciences
----------------------------------
http://www.blackwatchcanada.com/en/bands.htm
The Pipes and Drums of the Black Watch (RHR) of Canada are always
in great demand, both locally in Montreal, and throughout North America
and Europe. Members of the Pipes and Drums have appeared at over
200 engagements so far this year alone! The Pipes and Drums have
appeared at many events over the years, including the Ed Sullivan Show,
Tattoos and Highland games throughout North America, including Fort
Ticonderoga New York, Maine, Miami, Kentucky and the Stone
Mountain Highland Games and Tattoo near Atlanta Georgia. The Black
Watch have played at the U.S. Bicentennial Celebrations in 1976 and
was the only foreign band to march in the parade celebrating the
Bicentennial of the U.S. Constitution, Members of the band have also
participated in the Edinburgh Tattoo, the Nova Scotia Tattoo and for the
Trooping of the Queen's Colour in London, as well as the Queen
Mother's 90th Birthday Celebrations on Horse Guard's Parade in London.
The newest addition to the Black Watch musical family is the Black Watch
Brass, a brass ensemble in the truest sense made up of professional
musicians currently residing in the Montreal area.
---------------------------------------
http://www.blackwatchcanada.com/en/about.htm#history
The Regiment since 1862
While the American Civil War and the creation of a large American Federal
Army were creating a necessity of establishing a united Canada, Canadian
citizens were demanding the creation of local militia units to guarantee
the fundamental rights of British North America. Montrealers were no
exception, and early in 1862 the 5th Battalion Royal Light Infantry, the
forbear of The Black Watch Royal Highland Regiment) of Canada, came into
existence. From the beginning in 1862, Canada's senior Highland Regiment,
has been privileged to serve Canada in its obligations not only to the
Empire and Commonwealth, but also to international organizations such as
NATO and the United Nations.
The Black Watch of Canada's birth and growth is thus analogous to that of
the Parent Regiment, which was formed in 1739 to guarantee peace in the
highlands of Scotland and eventually to fight for Monarch and Country in
conflicts throughout the world. It is therefore not surprising that both
Regiments share a common heritage and spirit and a distinctive highland
dress. The tartan of the Black Watch and the Royal Stewart tartan of its
pipers, are known the world over as hallmarks of outstanding service in
peace and war.
Although members of the Regiment served side by side with the Black Watch
of Scotland in the Boer War, the formal alliance between Regiments did
not occur until 1905. The great battles of World War I and World War II
served to strengthen the alliance, and constant liaison and exchanges of
officers and other ranks are fitting expressions of our wish to maintain
this valuable affiliation.
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