Screamer (march)

For other uses, see Screamer (disambiguation).

A screamer is a descriptive name for a circus march, in particular, an upbeat march intended to stir up the audience during the show.

History

Screamers were mostly composed in a 60-year period (1895 – 1955). Circuses were in need of music that would stir the audience into a frenzy, as four-footed animals galloped across the ring. Because march music was a prominent part of American music at that time, and because it carried such a quick tempo, it was this that ringleaders demanded.

Musicality

Circus marches are faster than a normal military march, often 130 to 150 beats/minute.

Although screamers tend to follow the march form, many times they are abbreviated, and additions, such as a quick cornet call introduction to a new melody, are included. The average screamer can last a minute to three and a half minutes.

Screamers are a very demanding type of music, due to their extremely fast and advanced rhythms, especially the low-brass parts. Double and even triple tonguing is often required in order to play these rhythms. The trio in The Melody Shop is a good example of this.

Many screamers have two prominent melodies playing at once. Although this is not unusual in a march, screamers tend to go further with this. The low-brass section can be playing a long, stately melody, while the woodwinds can be moving along with a phrase of 16th notes, or vice versa.

Due to the circumstances in which screamers are played, dynamics tend to stay at a level forte. Unlike some military marches, piano is rarely used.

Composers

The most prominent composer of circus marches is Karl L. King, most notably with his march Barnum & Bailey's Favorite. Other screamer composers include Fred Jewell, and Henry Fillmore. John Philip Sousa wrote On Parade and a few others, but his writing in the circus march style is not renowned.

Popular screamers

• The ABA March by Edwin Franko Goldman
• Americans We by Henry Fillmore
• Barnum & Bailey's Favorite by Karl L. King
• Bennett's Triumphal by Melvin H. Ribble
• The Big Cage by Karl L. King
• The Billboard March by John N. Klohr
• Bombasto by Orion R. Farrar
• Bones Trombone by Henry Fillmore
• Bravura by Charles E. Duble
• Bugles and Drums by Edwin Franko Goldman
• The Circus Bee by Henry Fillmore
• Circus Days by Karl L. King
• Circus Echoes by Arthur W. Hughes
• Circus King by Charles E. Duble
• Coat of Arms by George Kenny
• Floto's Triumph by Fred Jewell
• His Honor by Henry Fillmore
• Invictus by Karl L. King
• Klaxon by Henry Fillmore
• The Melody Shop by Karl L. King
• Onward and Upward by Edwin Franko Goldman
• Robinson's Grand Entree by Karl L. King
• Rolling Thunder by Henry Fillmore
• The Squealer by Will Huff
• The Screamer by Frederick Jewell
• Smilin' Jack by Robert S. Keller
• Them Basses by Getty H. Huffine
• Thunder and Blazes (Originally Entry of the Gladiators) (1897) by Julius Fučík

See also

• Circus music
• American march music

Notes

1. ^ Liner notes to Front & Center, a Collection of American Marches, U.S. Air Force Band

References

• Fennell, Dr. Frederick: Screamers (Circus Marches), Eastman Wind Ensemble.
• Whitmarsch, Richard: Sounds of the Circus (28 volumes of circus music)