Sousaphone

Who Was Sousa? John Philip Sousa, also known as the “March King” lived from November 6, 1854 to March 6, 1932. Sousa was born in Washington D.C. and died at age 77 in Reading, Pennsylvania of a heart failure in his room at the Abraham Lincoln Hotel. The day before, he had conducted a rehearsal with the Ringgold Band. They rehearsed “Stars and Stripes Forever”. His mom’s name was Maria Elisabeth Trinkaus and his dad’s name was John Anthony Sousa. Sousa married his wife, Jane van Middlesworth Bellis, on December 30, 1879. They had three children named John Philip, Jr., Jane Priscilla, and Helen. All of Sousa’s children were buried next to John Philip Sousa in the Congressional Cemetery. He was an american composer and a conductor of the late…

motivated to join because of my brother and friends. After I joined the group and began playing the tuba, I always felt like I had a place. Being in band, I felt like I was a part of my community. First, I was drawn to band because I was interested in being a part of a team. Band was a lot of people coming together to create music, like a team. Not only had some of my friends joined, my brother, Pedro, had previously enjoyed playing in band ensemble. He encouraged me by stating, “I met some of…

I now have mastered the basics of the clarinet, somewhat of the saxophone, and the sousaphone. I have also been in a traditional Mexican band for more than five years and have performed for all types of occasions. For example birthday parties, baptisms, parades, and many more occasions. When I found out that Unity was hosting a school talent show, my mouth dropped. I immediately informed my friends about it because it was my objective to perform for everyone at school. I had to prove to myself…

have a set material that it was made of. It could have been made from anything from bone to ivory ("History of the Tuba"). Once keys were added, to make playing easier the tuba became part of the valved bugle family. Over time the tuba’s shape changed to wound around itself. It also gained valves and could be played in different keys. The modern day tuba design arose so after. It has a four valve BB flat design that has become standard for marching bands and orchestras today ("History of the…

In room 308 lies the darkest, most terrifying ghost in all of history. NICK BOO! He is an Islamic suicide bomber who goes by the nickname boo-sama boo-laden. He was responsible for 7-11. 7-11 was a sad day where negative 8 people died. This is where BOO died. The first encounter I had with him was at band camp. He would come into the barracks at night and raid our belongings. We didn’t notice until 5 days had past. He started with small things: soap, toothpaste, and non-perishables. But…

would and, plastic. They are all narrow pipes, with holes, with an opening at the bottom end and a mouthpiece at the top. You play them by blowing into the mouthpiece and opening or closing the holes with your fingers to change the pitch. Metal caps called keys cover the holes of most woodwind instruments. The brass family, where all instruments are made of brass is similar to the woodwind family. Brass players use their breath to produce sound but vibrating your own lips by buzzing them against…

and the next day, he was discharged. Later, he had The Sousa Band organized. It took over a month for Sousa to select his musicians. Finally, on September 26th, 1892, The Sousa Band performed for the first time at the Stillman Music Hall in Plainfield, New Jersey. Sousa’s band toured from 1892 to 1931, performing over 15,000 concerts all around the world, including at the World Exposition in Paris, France and at the Royal Albert Hall in London. Through The Sousa Band, John Philip Sousa’s fame…

higher ranges. For example, a saxophones have a wide variety of the same instrument including a soprano saxophone, alto saxophone, baritone saxophone, bass saxophone, and contrabass saxophone. It is like this for a majority of the instruments in band, and not in orchestra. Another difference would include the fact that band performs in parades and football games. Since orchestra’s instruments aren’t designed to be marched with, they are typically going to stay within a concert setting. For…

The bass is one of the pioneer string instrument jazz musicians started to use around the 1890’s to provide a low-pitched bass line that would outline the chord sequences of any song. Before jazz, the bass was mostly known for its use in grand orchestras. The double bass arose in Germany during the late 1650’s. It was mostly used in Orchestras for classical music, creating a low pitched base for the violins and violas while harmonizing with the cellos. As time evolved, around 1890, the African…

John Philip Sousa is one of the most famous music composers. Born in Washington D.C in the mid-1800s, this music inventor is very well known by marchers. Mr. Sousa has composed 136 military marches. Not only was he a terrific song writer, but he also invented the widely used sousaphone The son of two immigrants, John Philip Sousa was born in Washington D.C. on November 6, 1854. John was thee third of ten children and his parents’ names were Antonio Sousa and Maria Elizabeth. He began his musical…