An Introduction to America’s Music

168 PART 2 | FROM THE CIVIL WAR THROUGH WORLD WAR I

A brief, four-bar introduction is followed by two repeated strains (AABB), often

sixteen bars each. Next comes the trio, in a new key and sometimes ushered in by

a short transition. The trio begins with a singing, cantabile melody for the third

strain (C), which typically is played simply and softly. Sousa’s marches then fol-

low one of two options. The singing melody may simply be followed by a fourth

strain (D), in the key of the trio but now blossoming into the sound of the full

band. This “short” or “regimental” march form may be diagrammed as follows:

Introduction | A ABB | (transition) CCDD

In a “long” or “military” march form, the singing trio melody leads into a con-

trasting break strain, sometimes called a “dogfi ght,” in which high and low

instruments exchange short, choppy phrases at a loud dynamic level and with

agitated, unsettled harmony. The singing melody then returns in a triumphant

blaze of glory. Another pass through the break strain and the triumphant mel-

ody brings the march to a close. The long form thus may be diagrammed as fol-

lows (with D indicating the break strain):

Introduction | A ABB | CDCDC

The Sousa band consisted of three instrumental sections—trumpets, trom-

bones and euphoniums, and clarinets—that might carry a melody, with the

rest (fl utes, saxophones, French horns, tuba, and percussion) fi lling in the tex-

ture. In peak moments of a Sousa march, the main tune is often doubled in two

octaves or even three, while other voices present one or more countermelodies.

The musical space, chopped into units of predictable length, brims with melody

and counterpoint—a prime reason Sousa’s marches are still relished today.

Catchy tunes are another key feature: most were written by Sousa him-

self, but more than a quarter of his marches quote melodies that were already

well known or composed for another purpose. The Revival March of 1876, for

example, is built around the gospel hymn “Sweet By and By,” and Ancient and

Honorable Artillery Company (1924) features “Auld Lang Syne.” In several other

marches, Sousa recycled melodies composed for his operettas—for example,

the El Capitan march (1896) borrows melodies from his operetta El Capitan,

written the previous year. By far Sousa’s most successful stage work, El Capi-

tan toured North America for four years and played another six months in

England. As with other popular music of the day, Sousa and his publishers

milked the marches for commercial gain by arranging them for an astonish-

ing variety of combinations. Published in both band and orchestra arrange-

ments, the El Capitan march was also available for piano (two, four, or six

hands); banjo; guitar; guitar duet; mandolin; mandolin and piano; mando-

lin, piano, and guitar; mandolin and guitar; two mandolins and piano; two

mandolins and guitar; zither; and two zithers. Sousa copyrighted each of

these versions separately; most were aimed at the vast market of amateur

performers.

In The Stars and Stripes Forever (1897; LG 7.1) Sousa composed an American

classic by inventing for the trio a memorable, songlike melody (the C strain) and

then playing it off against a contrasting break strain (D). Cast in two halves, the

trio’s melody fi lls thirty-two bars of duple meter, comprising four phrases of

eight bars each in the pattern abac. The melody traces a climactic curve through

those four phrases. At fi rst it moves entirely in conjunct motion—movement by

LG 7.1

march forms

march arrangements

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