Home > Stars and Stripes Forever

1 History

In his autobiography, Marching Along , Sousa told how he composed it on Christmas Day 1896. He had just learned of the recent death of David Blakely , then manager of the Sousa Band . Sousa was on a ferry in Europe at the time, and he composed the march in his head. He committed the notes to paper on arrival in America. Although he would conduct performances of it at virtually every concert until his death, only one recording, made in 1909, survives today.

2 Musicality

Stars and Stripes Forever follows the standard march form (IAABBCDCDC). However, this particular march carries what modern conductors call an uplifting musicality to it. The introduction is simple, and yet it immediately hooks the audience and brings them to the first strain; two upbeat phrases followed by a sudden five-eightnote statement carried by the low brass. The second strain carries a more mellow and proud phrasing, which leads right into probably the widest-known trio section (i.e., third section, C) in the world. Sousa put lyrics to its trio, but they are not known by many. In fact, the trio was so popular, it became a model for other various lyrics including:

• "Three cheers for the red white and blue"... etc.
• The nursery rhyme "Be kind for your web-footed friends..." etc.

3 Other notes

• Stars and Stripes Forever features in the majority of U.S. musical performances. It is often spontaneously played immediately following the last scheduled piece on a program. Audiences often clap along to the beat. Many bands tend to adopt the Sousa Band arrangement of having piccolo players in front, and play the famous obbligatoIn classical music an obbligato is an elaborate accompaniment part played by a single instrument. Comes from Italian obbligare to oblige. in the first repeat of the trio. In the grandioso , the low brass will join the piccolo players and play out their counter-melodyIn music, counter-melody (often one word, countermelody is a sequence of notes, perceived as a melody, written to be played simultaneously with a more prominent melody. Typically a counter-melody performs a subordinate role, and is heard in a texture cons.

• The RussiaThe Russian Federation ( Russian: , transliteration: Rossiyskaya Federatsiya or Rossijskaja Federacija , or Russia (Russian: , transliteration: Rossiya or Rossija , is a country that stretches over a vast expanse of eastern Europe and northern Asia. Withn pianist Vladimir HorowitzVladimir Horowitz ( ru: ) ( October 1, 1903 (or 1904) November 5, 1989) was a classical pianist. His use of colors, technique and the excitement of his playing are virtually unrivalled, and his performances of works as diverse as those of Domenico Scarlat, who lived most his life in the U.S., wrote a famous transcription of Stars and Stripes Forever for solo pianoPiano is a common abbreviation for pianoforte a large musical instrument with a keyboard (see keyboard instrument). Its sound is produced by strings stretched on a rigid frame. These vibrate when struck by felt-covered hammers, which are activated by the.

• ConductorConductor can mean different things in different contexts: In science and engineering, a conductor is material capable of conveying electricity. See also heat conduction. In music, a conductor is a person who directs performances; see conducting. A conduc Leopold StokowskiLeopold Stokowski ( April 18, 1882 September 13, 1977) (born Antoni Stanislaw Boleslawowicz was the conductor of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, the Philadelphia Orchestra, the NBC Symphony Orchestra and the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra. He was the founder wrote a famous transcription of "Stars and Stripes Forever" for orchestraAn orchestra is a musical ensemble used most often in classical music. A small orchestra is called a chamber orchestra''. Full size orchestras may sometimes be called "symphony orchestras" or "philharmonic orchestras"; these prefixes do not indicate any d.

• The student band Strindens Promenade Orchester in Trondheim, Norway, has the world record in "speed playing" of Stars and Stripes (absolutely all notes has to be played). The band calls their speedy rendering of the march Stars and Stribes, and performs the march at all saturday parties at the Trondheim Student Society. Set during the fall term of 1999, the record time is 50.9 seconds (nominal time is 3 minutes 50 seconds). For this, the band are noted in the Norwegian edition of the Guinness Book of Records.