Meant as a day to build awareness around the ‘marching arts’, Marching Band Day is all about those upbeat, often cheerful bands which also happen to be moving around while playing.
Taking place on March 4th (‘march forth’ – get it?) this day is for all band geeks out there to celebrate one of the most musical of past-times.
Learn about Marching Band Day
Marching Band Day is a day that has been designed to build awareness around the marching arts. It is all about those cheerful and upbeat bands, which happen to move around while they are playing music. You will often find that marching bands play an important role in a lot of festivals, parades, and outdoor events. Not only this, but they are traditional, having first appeared in the 1800s. Therefore, it is only right that we celebrate this incredible form of music and entertainment with Marching Band Day.
From the Broadway stage to football stadiums, the battlefield, and the training field, you will find marching bands in many different establishments. They delight spectators and performers with their amazing music, as well as keeping military units moving. They perform in grand arenas too, as well as auditoriums and smaller venues. This is one of the most versatile forms of music and entertainment.
Marching bands also play a critical role in terms of keeping the military upbeat. They have long been involved in the roots of the military, and they have evolved as time has gone on. Marching music can thrill the military during times of celebration or moments of upliftment. Marching music also helps to move people during somber memorials as well. They engage with people of all experience levels, abilities, ages, and personalities.
History of Marching Band Day
For a good few years now, there’s been a petition active in the USA to make March the 4th the official National Marching Band Day – but marching bands themselves have been around for donkey’s years. A marching band is always easy to spot even if you don’t hear them first, as they usually have a matching uniform – most commonly of a military-style – and often have members who don’t carry instruments but use flags and other props to add action to the music. These are called a colorguard and accompany most marching bands which you will see.
The first marching bands appeared in the 1800s by all accounts. They originated from groups of traveling musicians who would perform at festivals centuries ago, and as time went on they would become the foundation for military bands. And military bands are where marching bands directly evolved from. Marching bands in the USA are known mostly for performing at sports events – namely, American football matches. The oldest recorded marching band was the Notre Dame Marching Band, which was started up in 1845.
One of the most spectacular things about marching bands is the formation – back when they started up, the band might form the initials of the teams that were to play that day. But in modern times, the huge crowds that events like the Superbowl pulls together, call for something special – video games, film scenes, complex patterns – marching bands make their performance even more special by stepping out in a formation that makes up recognizable shapes when viewed from above.
How to celebrate Marching Band Day
Even if you don’t have a musical bone in your body, you can still enjoy Marching Band Day!
Get back to the roots of the marching band by going along to a sports match, or listening to some of the great, upbeat marching band music out there. There are also plenty of pretty amazing videos on Youtube to see of marching bands doing their thing, including some jaw-dropping formations at some of the big American football matches in the States.
You can be sure that a lot of marching bands will be putting on special performances for this day. It is worth doing a search online to see if any marching bands are performing in your area. There could even be a parade going on in honor of this day. If there is a Facebook group for your local community, you should be able to find information about any events happening here.
Another way to celebrate Marching Band Day is to learn more about marching bands. There are plenty of great information sources online and in libraries too. You will be able to learn more about the history of the marching band and how this musical trend started. You can also find out more about some of the most famous marching bands.
The Ohio State University Marching Band is a good place to start. They perform at events during the semester, including the Ohio State football games. This is one of only a few all-brass and percussion collegiate bands in the United States. There are plenty of other exciting bands as well. This includes Blue Devils Drum and Bugle Corps, the USC Trojan Marching Band, Mucca Pazza, Environmental Encroachment, and the TriBattery Pops Tom Goodkind Conductor.
You should be able to find lots of information about these bands online, as well as videos of their performances on YouTube. You may even decide to celebrate Marching Band Day by learning one of the songs yourself!
