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screamer (march)

{{short description|Circus march}}

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|filename=U.S. Air Force Band - Henry Fillmore - Troopers Tribunal.ogg

|description=Henry Fillmore's Troopers Tribunal, a circus march for which Fillmore used a punning name – troupers, as in a circus troupe – in order to conceal whom he wrote the march for from his conservative father.[https://www.music.af.mil/Bands/The-United-States-Air-Force-Band/ Liner notes to Front & Center, a Collection of American Marches], U.S. Air Force Band

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A screamer is a circus march intended to stir up the audience during the show.

History

Screamers were mostly composed in a 60-year period (1895–1955). Circuses were in need of music that would stir the audience into a frenzy, as four-footed animals galloped across the ring. Because march music was a prominent part of American music at that time, and because it carried such a quick tempo, it was this that ringmasters demanded.

Musicality

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|description=Fillmore's "The Circus Bee" performed by the United States Marine Corps Band

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|description2=Fillmore's "Rolling Thunder" performed by The Ceremonial Brass of the United States Air Force

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Circus marches are faster than a normal military march, often 130 to 150 beats/minute. Although screamers tend to follow the march form, they are often abbreviated, and additions, such as a quick cornet call introduction to a new melody, are included. A typical screamer lasts a minute to three and a half minutes.

Screamers are a very demanding type of music, due to their extremely fast and advanced rhythms, especially the low-brass parts. Double and even triple tonguing is often required in order to play these rhythms. The trio in "The Melody Shop" is a good example of this.{{Citation |title=The Melody Shop- United States Naval Academy Band |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rnn0UyH7S14 |access-date=2023-09-07 |language=en}} Many screamers have two prominent melodies playing at once. Although this is not unusual in a march, screamers tend to go further with this. The low-brass section can be playing a long, stately melody, while the woodwinds can be moving along with a phrase of 16th notes, or vice versa. Due to the circumstances in which screamers are played, dynamics tend to stay at a level forte. Unlike some military marches, piano is rarely used.

Composers

Composers of screamers included Karl L. King, whose work included "Barnum & Bailey's Favorite", Fred Jewell and Henry Fillmore. John Philip Sousa wrote "On Parade" and a few others, but his writing in the circus march style is not highly regarded.{{Cite web |title=John Philip Sousa and the Culture of Reassurance |url=https://www.loc.gov/item/ihas.200152753/ |access-date=2023-09-07 |website=Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. 20540 USA}}

Examples

Marches composed for standard march tempo but frequently performed as screamers

See also

Notes

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References

Category:Circus music

Category:March music