A marching band is a group of instrumental musicians who play while marching. Historically they were used in armed forces and many marching bands remain military bands. Others are still associated with military units or emulate a military style, with elements such as uniforms, flags and batons and occasionally rifles or sabers. Instrumentation typically includes brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments.
A pipe band is a musical ensemble consisting of pipers and drummers. The term pipes and drums, used by military pipe bands is also common.
The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo is an annual series of military tattoos performed by British Armed Forces, Commonwealth and international military bands, and artistic performance teams on the Esplanade of Edinburgh Castle in the capital of Scotland. The event is held each August as one of the Edinburgh Festivals.
In rudimental drumming, a form of percussion music, a drum rudiment is one of a number of relatively small patterns which form the foundation for more extended and complex drumming patterns. The term "drum rudiment" is most closely associated with various forms of field drumming, where the snare drum plays a prominent role. In this context "rudiment" means not only "basic", but also fundamental. This tradition of drumming originates in military drumming and it is a central component of martial music.
The Middlesex County Volunteers (MCV) is a 501(C)(3) not-for-profit fife and drum corps that plays music from the 17th, 18th, 19th and 20th centuries. Founded in 1982 at the end of the United States Bicentennial celebration, the group is composed of musicians and Color Guard, sixteen years and older.
A military tattoo is a performance of music or display of armed forces in general. The term comes from the early 17th-century Dutch phrase doe den tap toe, a signal sounded by drummers or trumpeters to instruct innkeepers near military garrisons to stop serving beer and for soldiers to return to their barracks and is unrelated to the ink tattoo that was borrowed from Tahitian.
The Royal Marines Band Service is the musical wing of the Royal Navy and an independent element of the Royal Marines. It currently consists of five bands plus a training wing – the Royal Marines School of Music at HMS Nelson – and its headquarters is at HMS Excellent, Whale Island, Portsmouth.
The Carnival of Basel is the biggest carnival in Switzerland and it is the main Protestant carnival in the world. Basler Fasnacht takes place annually between February and March in Basel. It has been listed as one of the top fifty local festivities in Europe.
The Großer Zapfenstreich is a military ceremony performed in Germany and Austria. It is similar to the military tattoo ceremony performed in English-speaking countries, and is the most important ceremonial act executed by the German federal armed forces, the Bundeswehr, and by the Austrian federal armed forces Bundesheer. The Zapfenstreich is performed only during national celebrations and solemn public commemorations, to honour distinguished persons present at such special events. Examples are the farewell ceremony for a German federal president, or at the conclusion of large military exercises. It takes place in the evening hours and consists of a military formation of at least one military band, two platoons of armed infantrymen, and two lines of soldiers carrying torches, in total about 400 men.
The Virginia International Tattoo is a military tattoo that began in 1997 and is the signature event of the Virginia Arts Festival. Presented annually in Norfolk, Virginia, the tattoo is an exhibition of military bands, massed pipes and drums, military drill teams, Celtic dancers, and choirs. It is presented in cooperation with NATO and the Norfolk NATO Festival.
The Royal Swedish Navy Cadet Band (RSwNCB) (Swedish: Marinens ungdomsmusikkår, MUK) is a symphonic wind band with military traditions, and was created in 2002 as a non profit organization in cooperation with the Swedish Armed Forces Music Corps and the Royal Swedish Navy Band. The RSwNCB is the only young band in Sweden, alongside the former conscript bands, which has been approved for and performed at the ceremony of the Changing of the Royal Guards at the Stockholm Palace in Stockholm.
The Regimental Band and Pipes was founded on the Citadel campus in Charleston, South Carolina, in 1909, with marine general Harry K. Pickett in command. The marching band makes up one of the twenty-one companies of the South Carolina Corps of Cadets. In 1991, the band participated in the Edinburgh Military Tattoo in Scotland, becoming the first military college selected for the honor. They returned in 2010 as the only unit from the United States to appear at the Silver Jubilee of the Tattoo and appeared again in 2015 and 2024.
Guggenmusik is a term widely used in the Alemannic region of Switzerland, Austria and southern Germany to designate both a Carnival marching band and the type of music it plays.
Basel Tattoo is an annual military tattoo show performed by International military bands, display teams, popular musicians, and tattoo formations in Basel, Switzerland.
The Valery Khalilov Moscow Suvorov Military Music College is one of the leading military music institutions in Russia. It is a separate branch of the Suvorov Military Schools in Russia, and the oldest of them all.
The New Zealand Army Band is a brass band that primarily provides musical support for the New Zealand Army at all state and ceremonial occasions. It was founded in 1964 by Captain James Donald Carson (1934–2008) of the Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment.
The His Majesty the King's Guard 3. Company is a renowned military band and drill unit the Norwegian Armed Forces. It is attached to the Hans Majestet Kongens Garde or The King's Guard, acting as its unit band and drill team. The band and drill unit is based out of Huseby Leir in the capital Oslo where its area of responsibility is. It is a renowned unit that is famous around the world for its participation in international military tattoos. In its activities, it participates in parades and ceremonies for HM Harald V of Norway) and Norwegian members of the House of Glücksburg. It also supports the government and the military, specifically increasing the esprit de corps in army units as well as in the public. The concert season usually lasts from December to March/April while the marching season lasts until September.
The Trinidad and Tobago Defence Force Steel Orchestra (TTDFSO) is a specialized military band that is part of the Trinidad and Tobago Defence Force. It has its roots in British traditions for military bands, all while also uniquely using unconventional instruments such as steelpans and other native Trinidadian instruments. The 40-member band is currently the only military steel band in the world.
Alfons Grieder was a Swiss rudimental drummer who spread awareness of the Basel Drumming style in America during the mid to late 20th century through his traveling, teaching, and publications.
Platinum Jubilee Celebration: A Gallop Through History was an equestrian event held in the grounds of Windsor Castle on four evenings from 12 to 15 May 2022, as part of Elizabeth II's Platinum Jubilee celebrations.
