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Aconcert band, also called awind band,wind ensemble,wind symphony,wind orchestra,symphonic band, thesymphonic winds, orsymphonic wind ensemble,[1] is a performing ensemble consisting of members of thewoodwind,brass, andpercussion families of instruments,[2] and occasionally including theharp,double bass, orbass guitar. On rare occasions, additional, non-traditional instruments may be added to such ensembles such aspiano,synthesizer, orelectric guitar.[3]
Concert band music generally includes originalwind compositions,concert marches, transcriptions oforchestral arrangements,light music, andpopular music. Though the concert band does have similarinstrumentation to themarching band, a marching band's main purpose is to perform while marching. In contrast, a concert band usually performs as astationary ensemble[citation needed], though European ensembles often do both.
The origins of concert band can be traced back to the French Revolution, in which large bands would often gather for patriotic festivals and celebrations. These bands would play popular music that would immediately captivate the public's attention. Throughout the French Revolution, however, serious composers were often not interested in composing music for bands; this was due in large part to the instrumentation. Concert bands were (and still are) not standardized in their required type and number of instruments, making it nearly impossible to write the correct number of parts for the correct types of instruments. The quality of instruments also impacted composers' unwillingness to compose music for concert band. Wind instruments at that time were often difficult to play in tune and had difficulty in switching pitch and rhythm fast enough.[4] This in turn influenced bands to stick with pieces that were transposed fromorchestral movements and arrangements, something that has carried into modern day.
During the 19th century, large ensembles of wind and percussion instruments in theBritish andAmerican traditions existed mainly in the form of themilitary band for ceremonial and festive occasions, and the works performed consisted mostly ofmarches. The only time wind bands were used in a concert setting comparable to that of asymphony orchestra was when transcriptions of orchestral or operatic pieces were arranged and performed, as there were comparatively few original concert works for a large wind ensemble.[citation needed]
It wasn't until the early 20th century that composers began writing works for concert band. Concert band composers of this time were frustrated at the lack of quality music for bands, and as such, began writing and performing pieces to remedy this. One of the first and most important original works for concert band,First Suite for Band byGustav Holst, was written in 1909. Other composers of this time period includeRalph Vaughan Williams,Richard Wagner, andAaron Copland.[5]
Before the 1950s, wind ensembles included various combinations of instruments. The modern "standard" instrumentation of the wind ensemble was more or less established byFrederick Fennell atEastman School of Music as theEastman Wind Ensemble in 1952 after the model of theorchestra: a pool of players from which a composer can select in order to create different sonorities.[6] According to Fennell, the wind ensemble was not revolutionary, but developed naturally out of the music.[citation needed]
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Amilitary band is a group of personnel that performs musical duties for military functions, usually for thearmed forces. A typical military band consists mostly of wind and percussion instruments. Theconductor of a band commonly bears the title ofBandmaster orDirector of Music.Ottoman military bands are thought to be the oldest variety of military marching band in the world, dating from the 13th century.[7]
Military bands were originally used to control troops on the battlefield, by using instruments such asdrums,bugles, andfifes among others. As communication systems during war became more advanced, the use of instruments on the battlefield as signaling devices fell out of use. From then on, military bands would fulfill a ceremonial role, entertaining troops and playing for the community. As its role shifted so too did its instrumentation. A wider range of instruments was employed to play transcriptions of orchestral works, the bulk of the early wind band repertoire.[8] These military bands evolved into the moderndrum and bugle corps and helped to spread the idea of a concert band. A modern military will often have multiple types of bands (e.g. theUnited States Marine Corps has both adrum and bugle corps andwind ensemble).
Professional concert bands not associated with the military appear across the globe, particularly in developed countries. However, most do not offer full-time positions. The competition to make it into one of these concert bands is incredibly high and the ratio of performers to entrants is narrowly small.[citation needed] Examples of professional non-military concert bands include:
A community band is a concert band or brass band ensemble composed of volunteer (non-paid)amateurmusicians in a particular geographic area. It may be sponsored by the local (municipal) government or self-supporting. These groups rehearse regularly and perform at least once a year. Some bands are alsomarching bands, participating in parades and other outdoor events. Although they are volunteer musical organizations, community bands may employ an artistic director (conductor) or various operational staff.
The rise of the community band can partially be attributed to industrialization. As the instruments became easier to manufacture, their availability greatly increased.[9] This meant that many amateurs could now form a town band, their arrangements typically consisting of patriotic tunes, marches, and popular music. TheAmerican Civil War marked a turning point in the American community band where many military musicians, either stemming from amateur or professional backgrounds, sought to create their own community band after the war's conclusion.[10] The large number of bands created during this era led to a "Golden Age of Bands", spearheaded by conductors such asJohn Philip Sousa andPatrick Gilmore.[11][12] The new forms of twentieth-century entertainment, namely theradio andphonograph, led to decline in community bands. This led to instrument manufacturers, who previously had marketed to the community bands, to focus on schools.[13] The expansion of school music programs would eventually help restore interest in the community band as graduates sought to play in a band together again.
Notable community bands include:
U.S.A.
United Kingdom
Canada
Australia
Norway
Portugal
Finland
A school band is a group ofstudent musicians who rehearse and performinstrumentalmusic together. A school band is usually under the direction of one or moreconductors (band directors). A school band consists ofwoodwind instruments, brass instruments andpercussion instruments, although upper level bands may also havestring basses orbass guitar.[14]
In many traditional U.S. high schools, there are multiple band levels, distinguished by skill level or other factors. In such schools, an audition may be required to advance to further band levels, while the common level would be open to anyone. For example, in many U.S. high schools, "Concert Band" refers to the introductory level band, "Symphonic Band" is the title for the intermediate level band, and "Wind Ensemble" is the title for the advanced level band.
Instrumentation for the wind band is not completely standardized; composers will frequently add or omit parts. Instruments and parts in parentheses in the list below are less common but still often used; due to the fact that some bands are missing these instruments, important lines for these instruments are often cued into other parts.
Instrumentation differs depending on the type of ensemble. Middle school and high school bands frequently have more limited instrumentation and fewer parts (for example, nodouble reeds, or only two horn parts instead of four). This is both to limit the difficulty for inexperienced players and because schools frequently do not have access to the less common instruments.
The standard concert band will have several players on each part depending on available personnel and the preference ofthe conductor. A concert band can theoretically have as many as 200 members from a set of only 35 parts. The wind ensemble, on the other hand, will have very little doubling, if any; commonly,clarinets orflutes may be doubled, especially to handle anydivisi passages, and others will have one player per part, as dictated by the requirements of a specific composition. It is also common to see twotubas and twoeuphoniums orbaritones playing the same part in a wind ensemble.
While largely made up of wind and percussion instruments, string instruments such as thestring bass andconcert harp are often scored for.[16] The use of a harp dates back to its inclusion in the professional and military bands ofJohn Philip Sousa andEdwin Franko Goldman. Such bands would often contain the top harpists of the country, such asWinifred Bambrick, who was one of the first female instrumentalists to tour with the Sousa Band, andVictor Salvi, who played with theUnited States Navy Band.[17] Notably, theUnited States Air Force Band scores forcellos, a practice unique to the ensemble that dates back to the tenure of directorGeorge S. Howard.[18]
Complicated percussion parts are common in concert band pieces, often requiring many percussionists. Many believe this is a major difference between the orchestra (which usually lacks a large battery of percussion) and the concert band. While in older transcriptions and concert works,the timpani were treated as their own section as in an orchestra, today in bands the timpani are considereda part of the percussion section. Consequently, the timpani player often will double on other percussion instruments.
Contemporary compositions often call on players to use unusual instruments or effects. For example, several pieces call on the use ofa siren while others will ask players to playrecorders,whirly tubes, or tosing,hum,snap,clap or even crinklesheets of paper. The wind band's diverse instrumentation and large number of players makes it a very flexible ensemble, capable of producing a variety of sonic effects.
Instrumentation has developed throughout time to become more efficient for the conditions that marching bands need to play in. For example,clarinets were found to be more suitable than the olderoboes and became more widely used in the 18th century. More heavy and bulky instruments were replaced bytrombones andcornets. In the 19th century, band instruments became highly developed as they started to add keys and valves that made certain ranges and notes on instruments easier to navigate and perform, which became a huge game changer for all musicians.[4]
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Until early in the 20th century, there was little music written specifically for the wind band, which led to an extensive repertoire of pieces transcribed from orchestral works, or arranged from other sources. However, as the wind band moved out of the sole domain of the military marching ensemble and into the concert hall, it has gained favor with composers, and now many works are being written specifically for the concert band and the wind ensemble. While today there are composers who write exclusively for band, many composers famous for their work in other genres have given their talents to composition for wind bands as well. This is especially true in Japan, where an enormous market can be found for wind band compositions, which is largely due to commissions by theAll-Japan Band Association and leading professional ensembles such as theTokyo Kosei Wind Orchestra andOsaka Municipal Symphonic Band, as well as theKappa Kappa Psi andTau Beta SigmaCommissioning Program, the longest-running commissioning series for wind band in the United States.
Some of the most important people in establishing literature written specifically for concert band in the early and middle 20th century were:
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Over the last fifty years, many composers have written major works for wind ensemble. Some rose to prominence for helping to develop the concert band.
Research on wind-band topics began in earnest in 1964 through theJournal of Band Research,[19] affiliated with theAmerican Bandmasters Association.
During the early 21st century, organizations that promote band research began publishing more research on wind band-related topics: Germany-based IGEB (founded 1974),[20] the World Association of Symphonic Bands and Ensembles (WASBE, founded 1983),[21] and US-based organizationsHistoric Brass Society (founded 1988),[22] National Band Association (NBA, founded 1960),[23] and College Band Directors National Association (CBDNA, founded 1941).[24]
Internationally notable wind-band researchers include Vincent Dubois on French bands, Paul Niemisto on Finnish bands,Frederick Harris on wind-band conductors, Jill M. Sullivan on US women's bands, Frank Battisti on US bands,David Hebert on Japanese and Polynesian bands, Patrick M. Jones on US military bands, and David Whitwell on European bands and repertoire.
Some notable band associations include:
