Prologue

The marching band is a part of our American heritage. As common as we perceive marching bands to be, it is sometimes hard to image that bands were far more common and much more a part of American community life than they are today. For many small towns, cities, neighborhoods, and organizations, their band was a source of pride; a significant part of their communities' society and an admired and often protected institution.

The American obsession with the marching band can be traced back to the colonial period. During the British occupation of the American colonies, the military bands of the British Army were appreciated and respected by the colonists even if the troops were not. There were a few colonial militia bands formed based on the model of the British Regular Army. The first American military band appeared in a parade in Philadelphia in 1755.

Then, as now, the function of military bands was three fold: esprit de corps, ceremonial functions, and social and recreational activities. The band provided music to help maintain the ranks of soldiers as they marched, instill patriotism, and perhaps most importantly, give the men a device to forget the hardships of military service. A soldier who is singing along is liable to forget the discomfort of a long march, bad food, and uncomfortable field conditions. Bands also provided the music for ceremonial occasions. The appropriate degree of pomp, solemnity, and patriotism is most effectively communicated through music than any other means. In the days before recorded music a band was an absolute necessity for any social functions put on by the regiment. Military bands were responsible for providing music to dance to and this required maintaining a repertoire of the most current dance music.

During the 1700's military cost cutting created another long standing band tradition: the need for patronage. British military officers, wisely seeing the need for bands, would fund the regimental bands themselves or the more imaginative would simply falsify payroll records for band funding.

Bandsmen were issued elaborate uniforms decorated with lace and braid to contrast them with the regular troops. Bands, and more particularly, drummers, were the signal men of their time and a commander would need to know where they were at all times. So they were uniformed for easy identification. Another reason given for this is that bandsmen had a tendency to drink more than the average soldier, so they were given uniforms that they would not wear in public so as not to disgrace the regiment.

After the Revolution, the love of the military band remained. In 1798 the United States Marine Corps Band was founded. Massachusetts passed the Militia Act of 1800 which specifically provided for the funding of militia bands. The United States Military Academy Band was established in 1815, making it the oldest college marching band. In 1853 Commodore Matthew Perry took several bands with him on his mission to Japan. Bands flourished throughout the newly created United States. The invention and development of the keyed and valved brass horns further encouraged the proliferation of community bands. New mechanical production of instruments made horns inexpensive and readily available. Most towns and cities had at least one band. Like their military counterpart, these bands provided the music for civic occasions, parades, elections, social events and at other times when music was desired or necessary. For many Americans, their first exposure to "classical" music was through their community's band. Band music was not a novelty to most Americans, but suitable for any and all occasions. These bands varied in quality from the ear splitting to extremely musically proficient, but each was a source of pride for its community.

When the Civil War began, many of these bands were enlisted to serve as the regimental bands of the regiments recruited in their state. There was at least one band at every major battle. It is recorded that there were ten bands at the Battle of Gettysburg alone. Front line bands frequently would play while within the range of enemy fire. During the lulls in battle, these bands would enter the staging areas to play for the troops preparing for the next attack. A good band leader was as valued as a good commander. At the end of the day, bands from the opposing Union and Confederate armies would position themselves on top of high ground opposite each other and play against each other in a battle of music and musicianship. These "Battle of the Bands" could be as effective as the real ones, devastating to the enemy's morale and strengthening their own. Many a soldier on both sides would comment in letters home and in personal journals of the homesickness and dreams of home that the band music inspired.

After the Civil War, the Golden Age of the Band began and continued until the early 1930's. Bands were everywhere. There were municipal and community bands, school bands, manufacturing and industrial bands composed of factory and industrial workers, children's bands, all women's bands, even prison bands and bands made up of inmates of sanitariums. Bands were considered to be a positive social force that not only educated, but also uplifted the soul and was a source of health and mental well being. The organization of bands was encouraged at all levels of society. Civic pride demanded that every town have at least one band. Bands were the dominant form of entertainment in many communities and this lack of competition gave most bands plenty of opportunity to play and be heard. New composers of band music such as John Philip Sousa and Henry Fillmore wrote an almost endless stream of music for these bands to play. Bands would dominate the American musical and social atmosphere until the development and distribution of recorded music ended the entertainment monopoly that the bands held. So even in the 1920's , there was strong and compelling desire for a band within every town, organization, civic group, and even among the students and faculty of the University Farm in Davis, California.