July 01st, 2013

Sousa Traditions

It's the time of the year when we will all be playing Stars and Stripes Forever.. and many other marches! Whether you play Stars and Stripes in a concert band (the key is Eb major) or in an orchestra (in D major..... Sousa decided that strings sounded more brilliant in sharp keys)you will be playing the famous trio as a highlighted feature: meaning, you will be standing and you should be playing the  famous piccolo trio from memory. Make sure that you add the trills on every other quarter note (beats one and three) as you come to the end of the solo (just before the final long trill at the end)  as this is not marked on the music but is a performance tradition.