Martial music

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Oslo: Gebirgsmusikkorps der Bundeswehr. Militarymusic Parade 5.jpg
Oslo: Gebirgsmusikkorps der Bundeswehr.
Bagpiper leads an advance during Operation 'Epsom', 26 June 1944. Scotishadvanceepsom.jpg
Bagpiper leads an advance during Operation 'Epsom', 26 June 1944.
Painting Spirit of '76 by A.M. Willard, 1857, showing fife and drums. Spirit of '76.jpg
Painting Spirit of '76 by A.M. Willard, 1857, showing fife and drums.

Martial music or military music is a specific genre of music intended for use in military settings performed by professional soldiers called field musicians. Much of the military music has been composed to announce military events as with bugle calls and fanfares, or accompany marching formations with drum cadences, or mark special occasions as by military bands. However, music has been employed in battle for centuries, sometimes to intimidate the enemy and other times to encourage combatants, or to assist in organization and timing of actions in warfare. Depending on the culture, a variety of percussion and musical instruments have been used, such as drums, fifes, bugles, trumpets or other horns, bagpipes, triangles, cymbals, as well as larger military bands or full orchestras. Although some martial music has been composed in written form, other music has been developed or taught by ear, such as bugle calls or drum cadences, relying on group memory to coordinate the sounds.

Contents

Types

March music

A musician of the Kosovo Security Force Band. Kosovo Security Force Philharmonic.jpg
A musician of the Kosovo Security Force Band.

The notion of march music began to be borrowed from the Ottoman Empire in the 16th century. The Ottomans were believed to have introduced the first military bands in the thirteenth century, called mehter or Janissary bands. The music is characterized by an often shrill sound combining bass drums, horns (boru), bells, the triangle and cymbals (zil) and several other traditional instruments. The sound associated with the mehterân exercised an influence on European classical music, with such composers as Joseph Haydn, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and Ludwig van Beethoven all writing compositions inspired by or designed to imitate the Ottoman music.

Marching songs

Marching songs, typically with patriotic and sometimes nostalgic lyrics, are often sung by soldiers as they march. The songs invariably feature a rhythm timed to the cadence of the march. There are many examples from the American Civil War, such as "Marching Song of the First Arkansas" and "John Brown's Body". "P'tit quinquin was popular during the Franco Prussian War of 1870. The Boer War generated numerous marching songs among which "Marching to Pretoria" is well known. "It's a Long Way to Tipperary" was a marching song of World War I that became a popular hit. One of the most enduring marching songs from that war is probably the "Colonel Bogey March", which was popular in World War II as "Hitler Has Only Got One Ball"; the tune found later fame as part of the soundtrack for Bridge on the River Kwai . The "Dadao March" was a patriotic song sung in China during the Second Sino-Japanese War. "White Army, Black Baron" was written as a combat hymn for the Red Army of Russia in 1920, while "Erika" was sung by the German army during World War II.

Bugle calls

The bugle call is a short tune announcing scheduled and certain non-scheduled events on a military installation, battlefield, or ship. These short music pieces are played from an instrument called the bugle, it has been used by militaries as means of communication. This instrument can be heard from afar and in very noisy environments (during battle). It is a very effective way of giving orders and communicating. Although no longer required by armies for communicating, these music pieces are still played for tradition and during ceremonies. [1] Well-known bugle calls include "Taps", "The Last Post", and "Reveille", and also El Degüello.

Ruffles and flourishes

Ruffles and flourishes are fanfares for ceremonial music for distinguished people or groups. Ruffles are typically played on drums, and flourishes are played on bugles.

Recorded music

The Vietnam War produced a hit song in 1966, "Ballad of the Green Berets" which has a martial rhythm. Curtis Mayfield's 1963 hit "Amen" also features a marching rhythm, as does the US Top 40 hit, "Burning Bridges" by The Mike Curb Congregation (1971). In Vietnam and in particular in the Second Gulf War and in Afghanistan, recorded music (often featuring rap music) has been used by some soldiers as they travel, prepare for and engage in battle. [2] Performers such as Eminem have written songs with specific reference to the current wars including "Bagpipes From Baghdad", and Mark Knopfler, whose Brothers in Arms (song) was written during the Falklands War (1982). [3] Also see: "Soundtrack to War".

Instruments

Russian Infantry musicians, leading an attack during the Russo-Japanese War, 1904 Belligerants.jpg
Russian Infantry musicians, leading an attack during the Russo-Japanese War, 1904

Historically, trumpets, drums, cymbals, bagpipes, and other loud musical instruments were used for clear communication in the noise and confusion of a battlefield. They are easily carried while the instrumentalist is in motion, i.e., marching. Modern additions include the upright glockenspiel and several brass instruments including trombone and sousaphone, which are often used by military bands.

Drum

Chinese troops used tàigǔ drums to motivate troops, to help set a marching pace, and to call out orders or announcements. For example, during a war between Qi and Lu in 684 BC, the effect of drums on soldier's morale is employed to change the result of a major battle. In the late fourteenth century the first timpani arose in Ottoman military ensembles known as Janissary bands. During the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries janissary bands began to influence European court musicians with new percussion instruments such as the timpani originally known as Kös, cymbals, and rattle. Fife-and-drum corps of Swiss mercenary foot soldiers also used drums. They used an early version of the snare drum carried over the player's right shoulder, suspended by a strap (typically played with one hand using traditional grip). Similarly, during the English Civil War rope-tension drums would be carried by junior officers as a means to relay commands from senior officers over the noise of battle. These were also hung over the shoulder of the drummer and typically played with two drum sticks. Different regiments and companies would have distinctive and unique drum beats which only they would recognize.

Trumpet

Peruvian trumpet, 300 CE. Trumpetlarcomuseum.jpg
Peruvian trumpet, 300 CE.

The earliest trumpets were signaling instruments used for military or religious purposes and the modern bugle continues this signaling tradition.

Officers in command gave orders via sound from the trumpet because it had a piercing tone and high volume, which meant it could be heard in the midst of combat. Cavalry trumpets had a different timbre, so their calls would not be mistaken for other sounds meant for the infantry.

French naval bagpipe band. Bagad.JPG
French naval bagpipe band.

Bagpipe

An instrument with a piercing sound and graceful melody which is meant to be played outdoors, its main goal is to inspire men and women in the midst of conflict. It is also used in mourning the fallen and celebrating victory. Music was played in the build up to battle, but not during. [4]

Textual evidence for the use of Scottish bagpipes in battle dates from in 1396, when records of the Battle of the North Inch of Perth reference "warpipes" being carried into battle, though it is believed that bagpipes were originally intended for peaceful music. [5] The Irish were also inspired by bagpipes, as witness in this 1586 account: "This sort of instrument is held among the Irish to be a whetstone for martial courage: for just as other soldiers are stirred by the sound of trumpets, so they are hotly stimulated to battle by the noise of this affair. [6] In World War I German soldiers referred to Scottish pipers as Die Damen aus der Hölle [Ladies from Hell]. [7]

Also see: Great Irish Warpipes.

Shawm

Shawm on display at the Vietnam Museum of Ethnology Shawm, Co Lao - Vietnam Museum of Ethnology - Hanoi, Vietnam - DSC02920.JPG
Shawm on display at the Vietnam Museum of Ethnology

One of several woodwind instruments used in battle as early as the 12th century. This instrument rose in popularity during the Renaissance period and is believed to be a successor of an instrument called the zurna. It was mostly used as a military instrument. The overpowering noise coming from this instrument was used as a psychological weapon. The shawm found its way to Europe during the Crusades. [8]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cymbal</span> Unpitched percussion instrument

A cymbal is a common percussion instrument. Often used in pairs, cymbals consist of thin, normally round plates of various alloys. The majority of cymbals are of indefinite pitch, although small disc-shaped cymbals based on ancient designs sound a definite note. Cymbals are used in many ensembles ranging from the orchestra, percussion ensembles, jazz bands, heavy metal bands, and marching groups. Drum kits usually incorporate at least a crash, ride, or crash/ride, and a pair of hi-hat cymbals. A player of cymbals is known as a cymbalist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Drum</span> Type of musical instrument of the percussion family

The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel-Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a shell and struck, either directly with the player's hands, or with a percussion mallet, to produce sound. There is usually a resonant head on the underside of the drum. Other techniques have been used to cause drums to make sound, such as the thumb roll. Drums are the world's oldest and most ubiquitous musical instruments, and the basic design has remained virtually unchanged for thousands of years.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Drummer</span> Percussionist who creates and accompanies music using drums

A drummer is a percussionist who creates music using drums.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bugle</span> Brass musical instrument

The bugle is a simple signaling brass instrument with a wide conical bore. It normally has no valves or other pitch-altering devices, and is thus limited to its natural harmonic notes, and pitch is controlled entirely by varying the air and embouchure.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Great Highland bagpipe</span> Type of bagpipe native to Scotland

The great Highland bagpipe is a type of bagpipe native to Scotland, and the Scottish analogue to the great Irish warpipes. It has acquired widespread recognition through its usage in the British military and in pipe bands throughout the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Military band</span> Class of musical ensembles

A military band is a group of personnel that performs musical duties for military functions, usually for the armed forces. A typical military band consists mostly of wind and percussion instruments. The conductor of a band commonly bears the title of bandmaster or music director. Ottoman military bands are thought to be the oldest variety of military marching bands in the world, dating from the 13th century.

Turkish music, in the sense described here, is not the music of Turkey, but rather a musical style that was occasionally used by the European composers of the Classical music era. This music was modelled—though often only distantly—on the music of Turkish military bands, specifically the Janissary bands.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marching percussion</span> Percussion instruments in a drumline

Marching percussion instruments are percussion instruments specially designed to be played while moving. This is achieved by attaching the drum(s) to a special harness worn by the drummer, although not all marching bands use such harnesses and instead use traditional baldrics to sling their drums.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bugle call</span> Short military tune or signal

A bugle call is a short tune, originating as a military signal announcing scheduled and certain non-scheduled events on a military installation, battlefield, or ship. Historically, bugles, drums, and other loud musical instruments were used for clear communication in the noise and confusion of a battlefield. Naval bugle calls were also used to command the crew of many warships.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ottoman military band</span> Oldest variety of military marching bands in the world

Ottoman military bands were the first-recorded military marching bands. Though often known as mehter in West Europe, that word, properly speaking, refers only to a single musician in the band. In Ottoman, the band was generally known as mehterân, though those bands used in the retinue of a vizier or prince were generally known as mehterhane, the band as a whole is often termed mehter bölüğü, mehter takımı. In West Europe, the band's music is also often called Janissary music because the janissaries formed the core of the bands.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">March (music)</span> Musical genre, originally for marching

A march, as a musical genre, is a piece of music with a strong regular rhythm which in origin was expressly written for marching to and most frequently performed by a military band. In mood, marches range from the moving death march in Wagner's Götterdämmerung to the brisk military marches of John Philip Sousa and the martial hymns of the late 19th century. Examples of the varied use of the march can be found in Beethoven's Eroica Symphony, in the Marches Militaires of Franz Schubert, in the Marche funèbre in Chopin's Sonata in B flat minor, the "Jäger March" in the Op. 91a by Jean Sibelius, and in the Dead March in Handel's Saul.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Balkan brass</span> Style of music from the Balkan region

Balkan brass, popularly known by the Serbian name Truba, is a distinctive style of music originating in the Balkan region as a fusion between military music and folk music. In recent years, it has become popular in a techno-synth fusion throughout Europe, and in pop music in the Anglo-American sphere and throughout the world. Songs like Worth It by Fifth Harmony and Talk Dirty by Jason Derulo have brought the style to a new audience. In traditional form, it is popular throughout the Balkans, especially in Serbia, North Macedonia, Bulgaria, Moldova, and Romania, although the turbo-folk variety attracts larger audiences. The energetic and fast beats encourage dance and are egalitarian, often resulting in participation by the entire audience; this unpretentious relationship with audiences, highly charged energy and loud and joyful performances by highly skilled musicians has contributed to its successes. Fans of bands inspired by Balkan bands, such as Gogol Bordello, often state that it is a type of music better experienced than listened to.

Musician (Mus) is a rank equivalent to Private held by members of the Royal Corps of Army Music of the British Army and the Royal Marines Band Service. The rank was also previously used in the United States Army and Confederate States Army.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Corps of drums</span> Army unit

A corps of drums, sometimes known as a fife and drum corps or simply field music, is a traditional European military music formation. Historically, a Corps of Drums' primary role was communication. Today, the primary role of a Corps of Drums is ceremonial, performing in parades and military ceremonies. Besides drums, this formation may contain a variety of instruments, including trumpets, bugles, and fifes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fanfare band</span>

A fanfare band, fanfare corps, fanfare battery, fanfare team, horn and drum corps, bugle band, drum and bugle corps, or trumpet and drum band is a military or civilian musical ensemble composed of percussion instruments, bugles, natural horns and natural trumpets. Fanfare bands are the descendants of the old medieval trumpet and drum teams that sounded fanfares on important occasions and are related to drum and bugle corps internationally.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Great Irish warpipes</span> Woodwind instrument native to Ireland

Irish warpipes are an Irish analogue of the Scottish great Highland bagpipe. "Warpipes" is originally an English term. The first use of the Gaelic term in Ireland was recorded in a poem by Seán Ó Neachtain, in which the bagpipes are referred to as píb mhór.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Canadian military bands</span>

Canadian military bands are a group of personnel in the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) that performs musical duties for military functions. Military bands form a part of the Music Branch of the CAF, composed of six full-time professional Regular Force bands, 15 Regular Force voluntary bands, and 53 part-time reserve force bands. Bands of the Music Branch are often badged with the unit or Canadian Forces base insignia that they support.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Music of the Foreign Legion</span> Military unit

The Music of the Foreign Legion, formerly known as the Principal Music of the Foreign Legion is a Military band of the French Foreign Legion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Military bands of the United Kingdom</span> Musical ensembles maintained by the British uniformed services

The military bands of the United Kingdom are musical units that serve for protocol and ceremonial duties as part of the British Armed Forces. They have been the basis and inspiration for many military bands in the former British Empire and the larger Commonwealth of Nations as well as musical organizations in other countries. Military musical units with British influence include United States military bands, the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force Music Corps and the Military Band of Athens. British military bands are controlled by the military music departments of the three services that compose the armed forces. These include the Royal Marines Band Service, the Royal Corps of Army Music, and the Royal Air Force Music Services. British style brass bands and carnival bands were then and are currently inspired by the British Armed Forces and its brass bands, especially of the Army's regular and reserve formations, as they follow a similar format as it relates to brass and percussion instruments.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nafir</span> Natural trumpet, dates to ancient/medieval periods, straight tube with a bell

Nafir, also nfīr, plural anfār, Turkish nefir, is a slender shrill-sounding straight natural trumpet with a cylindrical tube and a conical metal bell, producing one or two notes. It was used as a military signaling instrument and as a ceremonial instrument in countries shaped by Islamic culture in North Africa, the Middle East and South Asia. In Ottoman, Persian and Mugulin miniatures, the nafīr is depicted in battle scenes. In Christian culture, it displaced or was played alongside of the curved tuba or horn, as seen in artwork of about the 14th century A.D.

References

  1. White, William (1944). A History of Military Music in America. Westport: Greenwood Press. p. 50.
  2. Jonathan Pieslak, Sound Targets: American Soldiers and Music in the Iraq War, published by Indiana University Press, 2009.
  3. Beviglia, Jim (29 June 2015). "Lyric of the Week: Dire Straits, "Brothers in Arms"". Archived from the original on 24 March 2016. Retrieved 12 September 2022.
  4. Manson, William (1977). The Highland Bagpipe, Its History, Literature, and Music. EP Publishing. p. 115.
  5. Francis Collinson, The Bagpipe, London and Boston: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1975, pp. 126, 135.
  6. De Rebus Hibernicis by Richard Stanihurst, quoted in Sean Donnelly, "The Warpipes in Ireland: iii", Ceol: A Journal of Irish Music, April 19, 1983, pp. 19-23.
  7. Claire Barrett (6/12/2023) ‘Ladies from Hell’: Bagpipers Led the Charge During WWI. HistoryNet Retrieved from https://www.historynet.com/ladies-from-hell-bagpipers-led-the-charge-during-wwi/.
  8. Baines, Anthony (1963). Woodwind instruments and their history. New York: W.W. Norton.

Further reading