section much larger than other bands of the time period. Sousa felt that his band should have twice the number of B-flat clarinets as he did cornets. Additionally, Sousa loved the tone quality of the saxophone section and insisted on having at least five in his band at all times. In his later years he increased the size of the saxophone section to as many as eight players. 19
Sousa had a wonderful E-flat clarinet player in the ensemble and his preference for that particular tone color was well known, even to the extent that he had two players on this instrument in some years. When the principal E-flat clarinetist left the band, Sousa struggled to find a replacement that was as capable. After many months of struggling to find a player whose tone and finesse allowed him to blend with the ensemble, he decided to use the fifth flute player to transpose and play the E-flat clarinet parts. 20
Like the“ waving off” of the brass instruments, the woodwinds would also have their parts altered during certain sections of a march. As with the brass instruments, it is often misunderstood when executed by conductors now. When Sousa would say“ clarinets down an octave,” a more accurate suggestion of what he meant should be“ clarinets in the staff,” or as Frank Simon suggests,“ clarinets play an octave lower whenever possible.” At no time should the solo and first clarinet parts drop below the second and third clarinet when they do drop an octave. Additionally, the piccolo and E-flat clarinet parts should be omitted during these sections when the clarinets drop an octave in order to have a more homogeneous sound. 21
Percussion
The percussion section in the Sousa Band was probably the most scrutinized section of the ensemble, and it is quite possible the Sousa was more particular with them than any other section. According to Sousa drummer, John Heney:
My friend, the late John Philip Sousa called the drum the KING OF INSTRUMENTS. He was more particular about his drummers and drum section, perhaps, than any other section of his band. Sousa’ s drum section was his pride and joy and without the marvelous cooperation of leader and drummer, his band probably would not have been what it was. 22
The Sousa band, like most professional bands prior to the 1940’ s, rarely used more than three percussionists. There was one player on snare drum, and one on timpani. This meant that the third drummer was responsible for the bass drum and cymbal part. Fortunately for Sousa he had one of the best musicians in his band, August Helmecke, who was saddled with this responsibility. In this time period the cymbal was attached to the bass drum and he would handle both parts simultaneously. 23 Whether or not this union was a matter of preference or a marriage of convenience is not known, but what is clear is that it is really a lost art form now. The important point for the musicians that play the bass drum or the cymbal parts now is that they balance and blend as if they were one player. In“ How Sousa Played His Marches” Gus Helmecke specifically warns about the dangers of the cymbal dominating over the bass drum and how this practice would never be tolerated. In regards to the balance of the percussion section with the rest of the band Helmecke states:
Percussionist should never predominate in a band. Sometimes, alas, they do!… Don’ t overdo loudness. Percussionists should be especially careful about dynamics. They should only do what the indications tell them. Zeal is a beautiful thing- but not when it causes someone to pound drums and cymbals out of all musical proportion. 24
To recreate the sound that the Sousa percussion section had, special attention must be given not only to how the instruments are played but also what instruments and implements they should use. The first instrument is bass drum. The bass drum should be approximately eighteen inches deep and thirty-six inches around. Furthermore, a fiber or calf head should be used instead of plastic if at all possible. For a beater, Helmicke used a lambskin beater to get the effect of having the bass drum being felt as well as heard 25
Modern snare drums are in general much louder and higher in pitch than those of the Sousa Band. If at all possible, a snare drum that is eight inches deep would be preferable. In addition, it is best to use a calf or fiber head in lieu of plastic and gut snares instead of metal. Finally, the snare drum should be tuned slightly lower than normal in order to recreate the appropriate tone color and balance within the ensemble. For cymbals, it is best to use a Germanic cymbal, or if at all possible, an Avedis Zildjian“ band” cymbal between sixteen and eighteen inches in width. Either of these cymbals will contain the dark tone color that would be appropnate for the ensemble. 26
In addition to the balance and tone color of the percussion section, there are a few other techniques that will help recreate the sound of the percussion section of the Sousa Band. The first is the use of‘ flam fives.’ This rudiment refers to a five stroke roll in which the initial
TEMPO 48 OCTOBER 2016