March (music)

A march is a piece of music built around a strong, steady beat, originally created to keep soldiers moving in lockstep. It falls under the category of martial music and is most often played by a military band during parades. The mood of marches can vary greatly, from the somber feel of a funeral march to the lively energy of Romantic-era marches and the forceful hymns of the late 1800s.

Marches can be written in various time signatures, though 4/4, 2/2 (or cut time), and 6/8 are most common. Some modern marches use 12/8 or 24/16. The typical tempo for a modern march is around 120 beats per minute, while funeral marches often follow a Roman standard of 60 beats per minute. Both tempos match the pace of soldiers walking in step, achieving a standard rate of 120 steps per minute. Each section of a march usually has 16 or 32 bars, which may be repeated. A strong, steady percussive beat, similar to military field drums, is essential. A military music event where marching bands and units perform is called a tattoo. Marches often change key once, modulating to the subdominant key, and sometimes return to the original tonic. If a march starts in a minor key, it modulates to the relative major. Counter-melodies are often introduced when a main melody repeats. Many marches include a penultimate "dogfight" strain, where two groups of instruments (like high and low, or woodwind and brass) alternate in a call-and-response pattern. In most traditional American marches, there are three strains, with the third called the "trio."

The march tempo of 120 beats per minute was adopted by the Napoleonic army to move faster. Napoleon’s soldiers lived off the land instead of carrying all their supplies, allowing them to march at a quicker pace. This French tempo is faster than the traditional British march tempo; the British call marches in the French style "quick marches." Traditional American marches use this French or quick march tempo for two reasons: U.S. military bands adopted the tempos of France and other European allies from early wars with Great Britain, and the famous American march composer John Philip Sousa, of Portuguese and German descent, learned the French tempo from Portugal, which used it exclusively. A military band playing at the traditional British tempo would sound unusually slow in the United States.

March music comes from the military and is usually played by a marching band. Key instruments include various drums (especially the snare drum), horns, fifes or woodwinds, and brass instruments. Marches and marching bands remain closely tied to military drill and parades. Marches are also important for ceremonial occasions. Processional or coronation marches, such as the popular one from Giacomo Meyerbeer’s *Le prophète* and those written for British monarchs by composers like Edward Elgar, Edward German, and William Walton, all use traditional British tempos.

Marches were not written down in musical notation until the late 16th century; before that, percussion alone kept time, often with improvised fife embellishment. As brass instruments developed, especially in the 19th century, marches became widely popular and were often elaborately orchestrated. Many composers, including Mozart, Beethoven, Berlioz, Tchaikovsky, Mahler, Vaughan Williams, Ives, Schoenberg, Stravinsky, Berg, Prokofiev, Hindemith, Shostakovich, and Bernstein, wrote marches, sometimes incorporating them into operas, sonatas, suites, and symphonies. The popularity of John Philip Sousa’s band marches has been unmatched. The style of the traditional symphony march can be traced back to Renaissance-era pieces written for nobility.

Many European countries developed characteristic march styles. British marches typically move at 116 beats per minute, feature intricate countermelodies (often appearing only on repeats), have a wide dynamic range (including very soft sections), and use full-value stingers at phrase ends. The final strain of a British march often has a broad, lyrical quality. Archetypical examples include "The British Grenadiers" and marches by Major Ricketts, such as "Colonel Bogey March" and "The Great Little Army." Scottish bagpipe music uses marches played at about 90 beats per minute. Many popular bagpipe marches are traditional and of unknown origin, like "Scotland the Brave," "Highland Laddie," "Bonnie Dundee," and "Cock of the North." Retreat marches are in 3/4 time, such as "The Green Hills of Tyrol" and "When the Battle's O'er." Bagpipes also use slow marches in 6/8 time, like "Skye Boat Song" and "Cradle Song," usually played at around 60 beats per minute by pipe bands.