1. American Music History
Marching Band & 20th c. Contemporary

2. Brass and Wind Bands Marching Band
Earliest bands became attached to military units
By the 19th century, local bands began appearing and parades always had a brass and wind band present
Repasz Band of Williamsport, Pennsylvania founded in 1831 and Salem Brass Band of Salem, North Carolina, and Boston Brass Band were among the most notable bands during the 19th century
Considered today to be one of the fixtures of American life; by the 1960’s there were 50,000 wind bands through the United States. Every high school and college had one
MUSIC: Marches, dances including the two-step, waltzes, and polkas were standard pieces played by marching bands
JOHN PHILIP SOUSA: 1854 – 1932 (most famous of the bandmasters)
In 1880 became the leader of the US Marine Band
In 1892 he organized his own band which toured throughout the world
Most notable compositions was “Stars and Stripes Forever” written in 1896

3. 20th century Contemporary & Broadway
Charles Ives – 1874 – 1954
ATONAL: Music without a tone center
FREE DISSONANCE: Interval/chord that requires resolution, but remains unresolved
POLYTONALITY: Two or more melody lines in different tonalities or keys
Influenced by hearing two bands clash in tone and rhythm when heard playing different tunes at the same time
Experimented with serialism: a style of composing where all structure is chosen from the 12 tones of the chromatic scale – also known as 12-tone or dodecaphonic
Leonard Bernstein – 1918 – 1990
Known for his orchestral works, conducted concerts, musical theater and music education through television
Music director of the New York Philharmonic beginning in 1958
Enjoyed success as Broadway composer
Composed the music for the famous “West Side Story” written in 1957 and “Chichester Psalms” written in 1965

4. A Few Vocabulary Words
Tin Pan Alley: Collection of New York City music publishers & songwriters who dominated the popular music of the U.S. early 19th century into the early 20th century
Ostinato: Repeated bass pattern: organ or synthesizer
Musical comedy: The Broadway Musical – reflected popular fashions and supplied new songs with each change; started gaining popularity in the 1920’s and continued to gain popularity through writers like Richard Rogers ( ) and Oscar Hammerstein II (1895 – 1960)