SKU: GI.G-287972
ISBN 9781574634914. UPC: 888680909567.
The performing style that created the Sousa Sound and made his music pre-eminent in the golden age of bands is revealed in this thought-provoking exploration by Keith Brion, founder and conductor of his own New Sousa Band. The band was formed in 1986 for a nationally televised PBS special, The New Sousa Band on Stage at Wolf Trap. It has since toured in every section of the United States and performed overseas tours in Japan and China. Since 1980, Mr. Brion has conducted his popular Sousa at the Symphony concerts with nearly every American major and regional symphony orchestra, often in repeat performances. Brion's insight into the musical depth of Sousa marches will enlighten any serious reader. Includes: · Sousa'a Marches As He Conducted Them · Parts of a Sousa March · Articulations, Dynamics, Phrasing, Harmony and Counterpoint · Blend, Color, Balance and Tempo · The Importance of After-Beats and Bass Lines · Instruments and Instrumentations · Percussion in Sousa's Marches · Patterns for Conducting Marches · Background and Analysis of The Stars and Stripes Forever - 2/2 · Background and Analysis of The Invincible Eagle - 6/8 · A Summary of Sousa Performance Techniques · Performance Suggestions · New Sousa Band Style Sheet and Guidelines · A List of References: Books and Recordings · Facts and Misconceptions About Sousa and His Concerts.
SKU: GI.G-10368
ISBN 9781622776276.
This is a fascinating and important book for everybody even remotely interested in the history of American bands. Bryan Proksch has done some painstakingly thorough research in putting together an amazing assemblage of documents… This is a must-have book! —Jon Ceander Mitchell The Wind Music Research Quarterly: Mitteilungsblatt der IGEB (March 2022), 14–15 For the scholar, each entry presents an opportunity for expansion. For the teacher, this work provides source readings for courses on wind band history or for complementing Strunk or Weiss-Taruskin in university music history courses. That said, these documents stand as an enriching and entertaining read in their own right for anyone interested in the subject. —Michael O’Connor Historic Brass Today 1/2 (Spring 2022), 32 The Golden Age of American Bands is ideally suited for courses on the history and literature of bands in America. Indeed, this volume could suffice as a textbook for adventuresome teachers in that it touches on the major musicians, instruments, ensembles, and functions expected of such a course. . . . Both private and classroom band instructors will find compelling glimpses into the history of their craft. [It is] bursting with opportunities to inspire curiosity in their students while effectively supporting their own curricular goals. —Benjamin D. Lawson and James A. Davis The Journal of Music History Pedagogy Proksch’s new collection of documents is a most welcome step in the direction of getting [the story of bands] under control. The juxtaposition of documents from so many levels and types of ensembles proves to have a cumulative effect: one begins to see the subtle and long-lasting connections among them despite the big differences. It is easy to envision it as a supplemental text in a course on band history and literature, but the book is also just an absorbing read. There is much to learn here, and much to enjoy. —Ken Kreitner Notes 79/2 (December 2022): 217-218 This is the story of the American wind band, told chronologically by those who experienced it in real time from 1835 to 1935. How did bands become bands? How did they rise in popularity? Which figures had insights and specific impacts on the development of the genre? Through source documents and articles, Bryan Proksch takes us on an extraordinary journey from the time of the first brass bands in the 1830s, through the Civil War and the golden ages of Gilmore and Sousa, to the cusp of the wind ensemble just before World War II. Hear from a young Frederick Fennell about his efforts to create the first band at Eastman. Read the outline of Allessandro Liberati’s unpublished trumpet method book. Eavesdrop on Karl L. King as he muses on the fate of bands after the death of Sousa. See Patrick Conway’s first undergraduate music education curriculum. Gawk as trombonist Fredrick Neil Innes embarrasses “world’s greatest cornetist” Jules Levy at Coney Island. Explore as Alan Dodworth revolutionizes bands. Retreat with a military band in the middle of a Civil War battle. Find out what it felt like to sit in a Sousa Band rehearsal. Ask Herbert L. Clarke why he thinks you should be playing a cornet instead of a trumpet. Find out how P. S. Gilmore managed to pull off the biggest concert events in American history. The book includes numerous rare and unknown illustrations to show you the places where band history happened. The documents include rare periodical excerpts, handwritten letters, and other writings taken from archives throughout the United States. These first-person accounts are certain to further refine and deepen our understanding and appreciation of American band history on a grand scale. Contents: Beginnings (1835–1859) The Civil War (1860–1865) The Jubilees (1866–1879) The Gilded Age (1880–1896) The Band Age (1897–1914) World War I (1915–1919) Transition and Decline (1920–1935) Click here to download a FREE addenda. Bryan Proksch is a distinguished faculty lecturer and associate professor of music history and literature at Lamar University in Beaumont, Texas. This is his third book. His A Sousa Reader: Essays, Interviews, and Clippings (GIA Publications, 2016) explores the documents relating to the life and career of John Philip Sousa.
SKU: GI.G-8620
ISBN 9781622771387. English. Text Source: A reprint of the original edition.
In print with the original text for the first time in decades, Marching Along is the intriguing autobiography John Philip Sousa wrote in the final years of his life. Sousa (1854–1932) was America’ s first superstar, a giant of his day. He conducted more than 14,000 concerts, composed a hundred hit tunes, and wrote three Broadway musicals that ran at the same time. In 1900 he was the best-known musician in the world, friends with presidents, corporate giants, and movie stars. Marching Along contains the amusing and insightful reflections of a world-class musician who charmed audiences around the globe for half a century yet also reveals the man’s humble nature as a simple lover of music. This book brings the colorful story of the March King and his music into true focus in an engaging and entertaining way. John Philip Sousa IV, the only living direct namesake of John Philip Sousa, has approved this edition of Marching Along. It is sure to bring every reader, musician or not, insights into the man who dominated the musical scene of early twentieth-century America.
SKU: M7.AHW-2150
English.
After studying trumpet and cornet with such accomplished musicians as Louis Davidson (Cleveland Symphony), Herbert L. Clark (Famous Cornetist), Oscar B. Short (Soloist- GoldmanSousa - US Navy Band) and Bartlett L. Lyons (Sousa Band) - this list is a veritable who's who in the brass field, isn't it? And after having witnessed many times the solid effects of visual education, I commenced thinking about the possibilities of teaching music by means of pictures. The Chinese, in their own terse concise way, simply say, 'A picture is worth a thousand words', so perhaps that is enough said about the philosophy behind this instructional endeavour. But even the best of pictures - I should say here that the cartoons in this book are the products of Clyde E. (Bud) Morris of Akron, Ohio, whose amazing ability to transcribe my teaching ideas in picture form is the making of this entire unique presentation - even the best of pictures needs interpretation and explanation Therefore, I have made a list of suggestions to the reader, which will enable him to benefit fully from the Talking Horn.
