attack is accompanied by a grace note. This was sometimes referred to as‘ a six stroke roll,’ but in modern times there is a marked difference in both sound quality and rhythm between a‘ flam five’ and a‘ six stroke roll.’ Therefore, it is probably best to refer to them now as‘ flam fives.’ The reason that Sousa used this specific rudiment was to accent the upbeat attack rather than the downbeat release of the roll. The five stroke roll naturally crescendos to its release. In Sousa’ s music these rudiments were usually located on the upbeat and released on the downbeat. He simply wanted to accent the syncopation, and therefore added a flam to the attack. In these specific rudiments, it is important that the rolls are played open. In addition, every roll in a Sousa march should be open as well. 27
Other performance practices that should be noted in the percussion section include bass drum pitch and muffling as well as omitting the snare drum and altering its color during certain sections of a march. During the first strain of a march, Sousa would often treat it as a‘ scherzo’ section, and in turn would ask the snare drummer to play as light and soft as possible. 28 In the‘ break-up’ strain, the snare drum was often omitted and during very soft sections of a march it was a common practice for Sousa to eliminate the percussion section all together. 29 Finally, in some marches such as The Stars and Stripes Forever there were multiple pitches listed for the bass drum. In this case, the bass drummer should experiment the different playing areas on the head of his instrument in order produce the three different pitches that are written in the bass drum part. 30 Additionally, it is important that the bass drum is low enough for the player to muffle the drumhead with his knee. This is a vital technique that must be used to distinguish note length.
Tempo
One of the most common misconceptions about a Sousa march is that it should slow down at the trio. This could not be farther from the truth. John Philip Sousa was very explicit about the tempo of his marches being consistent throughout and he felt that this consistency is what brought the piece alive and added the dramatic tension that he desired. 31 Not all of Sousa’ s marches were played at the same tempo, but instead the tempo depended on the character of the march. In general, Sousa would take all of the marches faster on stage than he would on the field. Additionally, Sousa’ s tempos got notably faster later in life, which at times reached nearly 140 bps. 32
Conclusion
Although many obstacles stand in the way of recreating a historically accurate performance, there has been significant research by numerous individuals to uncover many of the lost traditions of the Sousa Band. Fortunately, through the tireless efforts from former musicians of the Sousa Band as well as many of his colleagues and admirers, it is possible for someone to recreate historically accurate performances like those that made John Philip Sousa one of the most influential musicians of all time.
Scott-Lee Atchison, scott-lee. atchison @ uky. edu, is tbe director of Athletic Bands at the University of Kentucky and serves as the conductor of the UK Concert Band.
Endnotes
1. Bryne, Frank.“ Sousa Marches: Principles for Historically Informed Performance” in The Wind Ensemble and It’ s Repertoire, edited by Frank Cipolla and Donald Hunsberger, 145. New York: University of Rochester Press, 1994. 2. Ibid, 142. 3. Helmicke, August,“ How Sousa Played his Marches,” The Etude 68, no. 8( August 1950): 23. 4. Byme, p. 148. 5. Simon, Frank.“ Sounds of John
Philip Sousa,” vol. 1, 1966; booklets accompanying recordings produced by the American School Band Directors Association. 6. Ibid. p. 2. 7. Ibid. p. 2. 8. Simon, Frank.“ Sounds of John Philip Sousa,” vol. 2, 1969; booklets accompanying recordings produced by the American School Band Directors Association.
9. Fennell, Frederick.“ I Really Do Love Marches!,” BD Guide 4, no. 4( March / April 1990): p. 17. 10. Byrne, p. 150. 11. Harris, Sam.“ Sousa as I Knew Him,” The Instrumentalist 5, no. 5( March / April 1951): p. 17. 12. Ibid. p. 17. 13. Byrne, p. 150. 14. Simon, p. 3. 15. Ibid. p. 2. 16. Ibid. p. 2. 17. Ibid. p. 3. 18. Ibid. p. 5. 19. Ibid. p. 3. 20. Paul E. Bierley, Jobn Philip Sousa, American Phenomenon( Westerville, Ohio: Integrity Press, 1973), p. 129. 21. Ibid., p. 148. 22. Byrne, p. 157. 23. Ibid., p. 157. 24. Ibid., p. 158. 25. John Phjlip Sousa, Semper Fidelis, Edited by Keith Brion and Loras Schissel. C. L. Barnhouse, Oskaloosa, IA. 1997. p. 6.
26. John Phjlip Sousa, The Washington Post, Edited by Keith Brion and Loras Schjssel. C. L. Barnhouse, Oskaloosa, IA. 1997. p. 9. 27. Ibid., p. 7. 28. Schissel / Brion, Semper Fidelis, p. 4. 29. John Phjlip Sousa, The U. S. Field Artillery March, Edited by Keith Brion. Southern Music Company, San Antonio, TX. 1994. p. 3. 30. Byrne, p. 158. 31. Ibid., p. 151. 32. Ibid., p. 152.
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