Genero marching band

A Marching Band is a physical activity in which a group of instrumental musicians generally perform outdoors and incorporate some type of marching (and possibly onto other movements) with their musical performance. Instrumentation typically includes brass, woodwinds, and percussion instruments. Most marching bands use some kind of uniform (often of a military style) that include the school ororganization's name or symbol, shakos, pith helmets, feather plumes, gloves, and sometimes gauntlets, sashes, and/or capes.

Marching bands are generally categorized by function, size, age, and by the style of show they perform. In addition to traditional parade performances, many marching bands also perform field shows at special events like competitions. Increasingly, marching bands areperforming indoor concerts that implement many of the songs, traditions, and flair from outside performances.

Contents [hide]
1 History
2 Marching band styles
2.1 Military style bands
2.2 Show bands
2.2.1 Carnival bands
2.2.2 Scramble bands
2.2.3 Drum and bugle corps style
3 Instrumentation
3.1 Auxiliary
3.2 Personnel
4 Performance elements
4.1 Music
4.1.1 Band Camp
4.1.2 The HighStep
4.1.3 Glide Step/Roll Step
4.1.4 Marking time
4.1.5 Changing direction
4.1.6 Backward marching
4.1.7 Staying in step
4.2 Parade marching
4.3 Street marching
4.4 Field marching
4.5 Fundamental commands and drill down
4.6 Delay
4.7 Uniforms
5 Rehearsals
6 Marching Band in Football Games
7 Competitions
7.1 Spring competitions
7.2 Summer competitions
7.3 Fall competitions
8 TheSudler Trophy and Sudler Shield
9 Marching band documentary
10 See also
11 References
12 External links

[edit] History
The Marching Illini, the first band to perform a halftime show at a football gameThe marching band originated with travelling musicians who performed together at festivals and celebrations throughout the ancient world. It evolved and became more structured within thearmies of the early city-states, becoming the basis for the military band, from which the modern marching band emerged.[1] As musicians became less important in directing the movement of troops on the battlefield, the bands moved into increasingly ceremonial roles - an intermediate stage which provided some of the instrumentation and music for marching bands was the modern brass band, which alsoevolved out of the military tradition.

Many military traditions survive in modern marching band. Bands that march in formation will often be ordered to "dress their ranks" and "cover down their files". They may be called to "attention", and given orders such as "about face" and "forward march". Uniforms of many marching bands still resemble military uniforms.


The first marching band formation,the Purdue All-American Marching Band "Block P"Outside of police and military organizations, modern marching bands are most commonly associated with American football, specifically the pregame and halftime shows. Many U.S. universities had bands before the twentieth century. In 1907, the first formation, breaking traditional military ranks on a football field, was the "Block P" created by PaulSpotts Emrick, director of the Purdue All-American Marching Band.[2] Spotts had seen a flock of birds fly in a "V" formation and decided that a band could replicate the action in the form of show formations. The first halftime show by a marching band at a football game was done by the University of Illinois Marching Illini also in 1907 at a game against the University of Chicago.[3][unreliablesource?]

Another innovation that appeared at roughly the same time as the field show and marching in formations was the fight song. University fight songs are often closely associated with a university's band. Many of the more recognizable and popular fight songs are widely utilized by high schools across the country. Four university fight songs commonly used by high schools are the University of...