Friday, March 2, 2018 by Chrissy Misso | music history

We barely made it, but it's STILL Friday here! ....

Since it's March, let's talk about marches!

Did you know there are different types of marches?  Different styles based on the country of origin?

How many marches can you think of....?

You might have come up with John Philip Sousa or the Wedding March...any others that easily came to mind?

Marches can be fast or slow but always contain strong rhythm elements, typically written in 2/4 or 4/4, and are usually tied to a special celebration or service.  Most people nowadays associate marches with military bands, but "[i]n classical music many composers wrote marches which are not intended to be marched to, but still give the mood of a march.  Some famous examples of funeral marches include the second movement of Beethoven's Eroica Symphony, the Marche funèbre (Funeral March) in Chopin's Piano Sonata in B flat minor, and the Dead March in Handel's oratorioSaul."

Countries in Europe all have their own tendencies of tempo, rhythm, and melody; so do countries in Asia and South America!  The march styles developed at different times, sometimes under the radar of another popular forms of music at the time and sometimes as the main musical focus.

Now that you know a little more...how about you search ALL the marches and find your favourite! (hahaha!)

P.S. Who knows which weekend Daylight Savings is this year??

quote sources: https://wiki.kidzsearch.com/wiki/March_(music)

find more sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/March_(music)

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