 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Philip Caron
Date: 2017-08-01 01:34
I recently sat in with the community band in a neighboring town - the Claremont NH American Band. That band has been active since 1888. John Philip Sousa twice conducted it on tours through New England. Currently they give weekly concerts on the venerable band stand near the square in town. The concerts seem pretty well attended. It's nice to see an old tradition like this still going strong.
It's a pretty hard gig. They play almost all marches, and some of the music is old. The paper can be yellowed and dog-eared, the printing small and dense, and the lighting isn't necessarily the best. Some of those marches are hard! Plenty of Sousa, Fillmore, R.B. Hall, many I've never heard of. Mostly sight-reading, and as such a big challenge. Even guessing the number of ledger lines can be tricky - E or G? F or D? On many parts, key signatures and changes are marked only once, not on every line, so you have to catch it when it happens.
Man, that was fun.
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Author: GeorgeL ★2017
Date: 2017-08-01 05:07
Yet so many band directors prefer almost any other kind of music to marches.
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Author: Ed
Date: 2017-08-01 05:41
It is very easy to dismiss marches. but they can be really hard to play well, not just technically, but musically as well. Too often, there are conductors who want to just blow through them without taking the care to really bring out the music or to play them in the appropriate style.
You can find some interesting information here
http://newsousaband.com/articles_nsb.html
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Author: Fuzzy
Date: 2017-08-01 06:28
The music department head of the University I attended voiced an utter disdain for Sousa. Perhaps contempt would be a more accurate word. The sad thing is - every student coming out of that department during the department head's tenure has carried the same view about Sousa by the time they graduate.
Speaking from personal experience...the general populace of my city LOVEs Sousa's music and relate closer to Sousa's music than that of the other pieces offered to them via the various concerts. Never are the crowds llouder or more enthusiastic than after a Sousa march.
I do wish our location would delve more into historic concerts pertaining to folks like Sousa and James Reece Europe, etc. But - there's so much good music out there from the past centuries, I understand why this isn't possible.
Congrats on getting to play in the group and having fun with it!
Fuzzy
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Author: Matt74
Date: 2017-08-01 07:10
Sousa Forever!
I always fantasized about playing in such a band.
- Matthew Simington
Post Edited (2017-08-01 07:10)
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Author: ClarinetRobt
Date: 2017-08-01 09:11
Hanging out with the clarinet players in the Marine band in DC one time taught me to respect marches. Execution is difficult. To play one cleanly and, more importantly, musically is a major feat. They went on for hours about how hard they are to deliver perfectly. How often do you hear a trio at pp?
I know I no longer sneer at any march and give them the respect they deserve.
~Robt L Schwebel
Mthpc: Behn Vintage
Lig: Ishimori, Behn Delrin
Reed: Legere French Cut 3.75/4, Behn Brio 4
Horns: Uebel Superior (Bb,A), Ridenour Lyrique, Buffet R13 (Eb)
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Author: Ed
Date: 2017-08-01 16:14
It is like a self fulfilling prophecy. It is easy to play marches poorly and then dismiss them as inferior.
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Author: Fuzzy
Date: 2017-08-01 18:29
Ed -
Quote:
It is like a self fulfilling prophecy. It is easy to play marches poorly and then dismiss them as inferior.
Haha!
What a perfect observation/statement! So very true!
;^)>>>
Fuzzy
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Author: MarlboroughMan
Date: 2017-08-01 19:45
Thanks for posting this...what a great organization. Great comments above about marches too--this is an area of American music which might, and perhaps ought to be preserved by ensembles around the country--maybe even with 'period instruments' and performance practices too.
Eric
******************************
The Jazz Clarinet
http://thejazzclarinet.blogspot.com/
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Author: bmcgar ★2017
Date: 2017-08-01 20:24
I, for one, am glad that many band directors don't program marches because most treat them as if they're throw-away pieces or merely crowd pleasers that don't require anything but a bass drum, cymbals, and an up and down baton.
However, my biggest pet peeve is that most marches are played TOO FAST! Marches are marches because you march to them, not run to them. (The "Florentiner" is biggest example of this that I can think of.)
I wish directors would listen to the old recordings.
B.
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Author: seabreeze
Date: 2017-08-01 23:00
When I was a member of the U.S. Fourth Army Band in San Antonio, TX in the '60s, there was a clarinetist named Ramos in the section who claimed he had been in the cavalry band of Poncho Villa and played marches with them while riding on horseback. He looked old enough to have ridden with Poncho Villa, but the rest of his story I was never able to confirm.
Regarding marches, cultural historian Jacques Barzun writes, in his history "From Dawn to Decadence," "America made two contributions to classical music, one of which is likely to be overlooked: the marches of John Philip Sousa. Far from being commonplace military music, the sizable group of his best are remarkable for melody and counterpoint and can stand comparison with any other composer's in a genre that was not disdained by the greatest masters. The second, an epoch-making innovation, was Ragtime and the Blues composed and played by Black musicians, first in New Orleans, then in Chicago" (678-9).
Barzun could have gone further and traced the influence of marches on the development of early jazz. (Barzun, by the way, in addition to being Provost of Columbia U for years and a prolific author, was also an amateur flutist.)
Post Edited (2017-08-01 23:01)
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Author: Wes
Date: 2017-08-02 07:31
Gerald R. Prescott, the late director of the U of MN band, set the marching tempo as 144 beats per minute and the pitch was set at A443. It most probably is something else now.
About 25 years ago, I sat in with the St. Johnsbury band in New England. It had a very long history.
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Author: nellsonic
Date: 2017-08-02 08:33
The world of marches covers the full range from funeral march to screamer. Finding the right tempo for each is particularly important. I'm sad to observe the tradition of marches suffering a long decline in school bands around here - both on stage and on the street.
I always loved competitive parade band. At its best a parade band is a fine concert band in motion.
https://youtu.be/uNeXQjYobog?t=27s
There is so much to learn about music in general from playing a good march well. It really should be a required part of any band curriculum.
Anders
Post Edited (2017-08-02 08:33)
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