The Sousa Band

Even before the war, music was a large part of entertainment to the American people. In the article Music of the 1860’s, it mentions how people would go to concerts that would be performed by bands to listen to music.

In Paris, the Sousa Band marched through the streets including the Champs-Élysées to the Arc de Triomphe – one of only eight parades the band marched in over its forty years.

What is your stereotypical marching band geek? Weak, thin, and clumsy, having broken glasses and always seem to be holding their instrument?

Ferdinand Joseph “Jelly Roll Morton” LaMenthe was born in New Orleans, Louisiana on October 20, 1890. As a child he began to learn how to play the piano at age 10 years old. He was taught by Tony Jackson; compose of songs like “Pretty Boy” and other hits. Tony Jackson is among the few musicians whom Morton admired and respected. Jackson was also known to him as the greatest single-handed entertainers in the world. After his mother’s passing, Morton began playing in gigs in the bordellos of the Storyville district of New Orleans. In New Orleans he became active as a gambler, pool shark, and many more things that made him get kicked out by his grandmother. With him doing all of this gambling she didn’t want his sisters to see that life that he was going down.

He would arrange dance bands for weddings and parties for extra money. He put his knowledge of piano playing to use and played at a few of the dance parties and weddings. After employing his artistic talent in painting posters, Duke then decided to put together his own band.

At the beginning of the Civil War the armies needed to provide entertainment and comfort to their soldiers. There were many reasons music alleviated the negative experiences the soldiers were facing, but all mainly had the same goal, and that was to keep encouraging the soldiers to continue marching and fighting. Brass bands played inspiring songs designed to lift the spirits of the troops and the civilians who were listening, or

For Ellington the big band was not simply made up of four trumpets, three trombones, drums, a bass, and a piano. It was made up of people who had instruments. Were other musicians had thought themselves with creating a sound that brought the many instruments into one sound. Ellington believed in letting the sound of each musician play against each other. He wrote music that topped the particular style and skills of his career. The best members of his band were Jimmy Blanton, Johnny Hodges, Cootie Williams, and Harry Carney (who was in the band for nearly every one of its 47

The instruments in the first gathering included bass, drums, conga, trumpet, alto saxophone, shaker and vibraslap. They performed two quick tempo melodies for drums and percussion, and every instrumentalist was given the chance to hold a performance. All through the execution of the first gathering, the bass player was absence of innovativeness and specialized abilities that should have been be cleaned; his spontaneous creation was a progression of specific scales that were dull and basic. Then again, he was extremely rhythmical and had decent state of mind toward the group of onlookers, coordinating great with drums and knew how to connect with the gathering of people. Particularly, the alto saxophone player was not the same as different instrumentalists, since his tones were more vividly communicated than some other payers. His act of spontaneity was confounded and inventive too. His pitch and rhythms were exact. Notwithstanding that, he executed as harmony with trumpet player in a brief moment performing melody, where he demonstrated a decent feeling of flow. In general, despite the fact that every part of the orchestra possessed the differential musical skill, but they coordinated with each other quite

When J.J. Johnson was 11 years old, his mother, Nina, sent him to piano lessons, and he briefly played the baritone saxophone at school.  At the age of 14, J.J. Johnson’s classmates wanted to be in a band and needed a trombone player, so he took the opportunity and never looked back. Johnson and his friends were really enjoying the concept melody solos from the tenor saxophonist, Lester Young, and he was also drawn to the Trombone work of Dickie Wells. Therefore, around 1941 and 1942, J.J Johnson joined two bands called Clarence Love’s Regional Touring Band and Snookum Russell’s Band. Johnson then received a suggestion to join the band of Saxophonist Benny Carter for an extended tour, so the spring of 1945, Johnson worked with Carter’s band as a trombonist and a staff manager.

The standard big band sound of the late 1940s and 1950s was very laid back. Rhythmically, it was normal to play just behind the beat to create this relaxed feel, with a definite emphasis on the "swing" style. Swing music was usually composed of one melody played by one section of the band, and other sections, if playing at all, would play chord hits in different places. The function of the rhythm section is mostly to comp and stay out of the way. These bands usually stayed within either 3/4, 4/4, 2/2, or 2/4 time signatures. Kenton altered this system in many ways to create something fresh and progressive.

The Purpose of music during the American Revolution was to boost morale, to communicate and to be organized.The music consisted of drums and fifes. The drums was used to signal the army where to go Drums also told soldiers in camp when to wake up, fetch wood, or food, and when to show up for church. The drummers and Fifers was little boys whose fathers was solders or older men who are no longer at fighting age. Music for the amy standardized from Drillmaster Baron Friedrich Von Stuben. ⅓ of the colonist supported the revolution. ⅓ of the colonist was loyal to Great britain. ⅓ was undecided or neutral. Music was used to reflect a deep divided within the colonial population

For instance, the Liberty Bell March by Sousa was the first piece that the musicians performed. This song from the late romantic period and is very cheery in nature. Within this song, the band had long phrases and good pitch. Also, the dynamics throughout the march were overall good, but the pianissimo sections could be quieter. The blend of this song could have been a little bit better,

Charles Ives is known in our day as the “Father of American Music,” but in his day, he was known just like everyone else- an ordinary man living his life. He was born in Danbury, Connecticut on October 20, 1894 (Stanley 1) to his mother, Sarah Hotchkiss Wilcox Ives and father, George White Ives (A Life With Music, Swafford 4). His father was renowned for being the Union’s youngest bandmaster and having the best band in the Army (The Man His Life, Swafford 1). Little Charles was influenced early in his life by his father who had libertarian ideas about music (Stanley 1). Although Danbury prided itself as “the most musical town in Connecticut”, the people did not give the musical profession respect or understanding

Known for being pioneers for rock 'n roll music in the 1960s the Beatles weren 't always musical celebrities. Coming from humble beginnings in

Previously in the year, it was typical for me just write what is on my mind at the time and later go back and organize it. This paper is a stupendous presentation of that obsolete format. It was common for me to leap from one paragraph to another without soundly blending my ideas into the narrative. Despite this, however, many outstanding developments appeared in this essay. This was the essay that helped me further develop my ability to write sensory details, which immediately shows itself in the introduction: “Lights blare down from above. To my left, I can see the crowd cheering as the previous band charges off the field, and we prepare our grand entrance” ( 1). I also highlighted the negative aspects of the band, such as leadership problems: “Aside from inexperienced and uncaring managers, some people are just wholly opposed to taking orders from their peers. This causes an avalanche of tension between them and their section. Arguments will typically break out as to who is right and who is wrong-- especially during marching season ( 3).” Each paragraph, despite flowing strangely, outlined a specific aspect of the band in increasingly detailed methods. One section describes the methods band members use to communicate with one another while another tells of its hierarchy. Overall, this paper, despite its shortcomings, laid the base for which I would later improve upon in following essays.