WINDJAMMERS
Circus marches are called "screamers"
because they are traditionally so high, loud & fast!!
Circus Band members are often called "windjammers"
because they jam so much wind into their instruments in the
process of playing these screamers. Playing the circus
requires incredible endurance & skills on your
instrument. The windjammers play almost none stop and much
of the music is really difficult!
The greatest circus bands were about 100 years ago in the
heyday of the circus. At that time the big top band could be
25 or so, plus there were often sideshow musicians as well.
Cowboy bands, women's bands and bands of Blacks were often
part of the sideshows.
Contemporary circuses are much smaller all the way
around, and some don't use live musicians at all, just
"canned" music (recordings). Others carry 3 musicians, a
drummer, a trumpet player and a keyboard (synthesizer)
player. A few, like the Big
Apple Circus, still have bands. The Big Apple Circus has
8 musicians on its band stand: a conductor/trumpet, a person
who plays alto sax and clarinet, one who plays tenor sax and
flute, a violin, a trombone, a bass player, a keyboard
player and a drummer.
In the "old days," being a circus musician was one of the
most strenuous jobs a musician could have. In the days
before musicians' unions, the windjammer would be expected
to play for the circus parade, play a pre-show free concert
for the townspeople, ballyhoo
around the grounds before the big top show, play the show
itself (nonstop for two or three hours!), play post show
concerts on the grounds or play sideshows. Then after
everyone left, they helped take down the tents or do other
chores around the grounds. It was a busy day and the pay was
not very good, but it was an exciting life with lots of
great music, and many musicians loved it!
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THE
MUSIC
Entry of the Galdiators (Thunder and Blazes) was
written in 1897 by, the Czechoslovakian composer, Julius
Fucik (1872-1916). This march is a classic circus march
& one that just about everyone will think, "Ah, circus!"
when they hear it. Thunder and Blazes (as it is most
frequently called) and Fucik's Florentiner March are
probably his most well known marches. (Go to http://world.std.com/~tsh/circus.html
and at the bottom of the page is a bit of the handwritten
music for Thunder and Blazes & a RealAudio
download file of part of it! Look at all of those chromatic
scales!!!)
Most circus marches follow the standard American military
march form, but often abbreviated (no repeats in the second
half):
- Introduction (a bit longer than military
marches)
- First strain (repeated)
- Second strain (repeated)
- Trio (more mellow and the key changes)
- Breakup strain (often called the dogfight in military
marches)
- Last strain
In a circus march, the last strain is often the same as
the trio, but louder, and often the trio, breakup strain and
last strain are not repeated like they are in a military
march (in military marches, the trio and breakup strain are
often reversed & the way they repeat may vary).
To listen to examples of some screamers, go to Amazon.com
or some other record dealer and they will often have short
segments of some of the CDs that you can download and listen
to. A good page at Amazon.com's is at http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/stores/artist/glance/-/74400/ref%3Dbr%5Fart%5F/104-2885245-1191929
The music sets the scene for the performer's act.
Different music is needed for different kinds of acts: the
bareback riders galloping around the hippodrome
need a lively tune, the trapeze artists want something more
peaceful, and of course the clowns need music that sounds
humorous (like trombone smears!).
In the early days of the circus, the band masters would
take some of the European classical music and arrange it for
the circus band. "The most obvious example would be the
beautiful, flowing waltz music that is essential to the
trapeze artists ('flyers' and 'catchers'). The bandmaster
and musicians must be precise in coordinating the music and
the timing of the artists, requiring rehearsal with the
artists and the musicians. Similarly, it may be
interesting to note that the bareback riders perform in a
smaller ring because of the gait of the horses. The
centrifugal effect requires a ring of a certain diameter for
timing. Thus, the conductor must follow the gait of the
horses, whereas the aerialists depend on the tempo of
the music for timing their act."*
Modern circuses also play a lot of popular tunes, jazz
and other songs that people will recognize. You will likely
hear fewer of the standard circus marches at a circus
today.
The drummer has a particularly challenging and important
role in the circus music. He/she must "play the tricks."
Usually the drummer is situated so that he can see the ring
because it is his job to accent and intensify what is
happening in the ring. This was true 100 years ago, and it
is true today. If the act is getting tense, the drummer will
get intense. If someone slides down a rope or vaults off the
trampoline, there will be a cymbal crash or drum hit when
the performer reaches the floor. Sometimes the cues come
from the conductor or from the ring master, but sometimes it
is the drummer who is really in charge!
Circus bands occasionally play a John Philip Sousa
composition during the traditional Center Ring Concert, but
his melodic marches are not the right structure for most
circus acts. Sousa's Stars and Stripes Forever
is never part of the regular program. It is reserved for
emergency use - sometimes called the "Disaster March". If a
major problems happens -- an animal gets loose, a high wind
threatens the tent, or a fire breaks out -- the band plays
the march as warning signal to every worker on the circus
lot that something is wrong. For lesser problems,
the12th Street Rag was played to alert the
clowns to come out and divert attention during the more
common mishaps. (Click
here for information on the Hartford fire of 1944)
Edward F. Shevlin describes what goes on in the cirus
band as follows:
"Our music is usually by Karl King,
Alexander, Fred Jewell, C. E. Duble and other old
time circus bandmasters and musicians. Much of
the music by these circus musician-composers is amenable
to quick cut-offs and tempo changes as necessary to fit
particular acts. Hence, Windjammers usually play two
musicians to a stand so that when the conductor cuts to a
new piece and tempo, one musician can quickly move the
music to expose the next piece while the other continues
without skipping a beat! We might quickly go from a march
to a Samba or rhumba or galop; or from a waltz to an
up-tempo march or galop for the "come down" when the
aerialists quickly descend into the net or slide down a
rope at the conclusion of their act . . .followed by that
ubiquitous B-flat chord! The old circus bands would play
anything from Ragtime to a Polonaise or a tone
poem!"*
*Information from an email from Edward F.
Shevlin, a Windjammer who happened upon this page! Many
thanks, Mr. Shevlin!
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THE
BANDWAGON
When the circus came to town, there was always a circus
parade -- the parade served to get the wagons filled with
people, equipment, baggage, tents and animals to the
location of the circus, but it also provided some free
advertisement. The wagons were very elaborate & were
intended to get people interested in the circus so they
would come and see the acts. The band road on top of a
bandwagon and inside the band wagon was luggage, tents and
other necessities.
Hey, have you ever heard the term, "jump on the
bandwagon"? Here's the story. In 1848, when Zachary Taylor
won the Whig party nomination for president, Dan
Rice, a famous clown whose attire inspired the image of
Uncle Sam, invited Mr. Taylor to ride on the bandwagon that
Dan Rice had. When the bandwagon arrived at the center of
town, Dan Rice stopped his parade and made a very emotional
speech supporting Zachary Taylor's candidacy. Someone noted
that Dan Rice was on Mr. Taylor's bandwagon and the term
stuck, so that to jump on the bandwagon means to get
involved with whatever the issue is. "He jumped on the
ecology bandwagon." "She is definitely on the civil rights
bandwagon."
Below you will find some links to pictures of
bandwagons.
PT
Barnum's Bandwagon
http://www.vintageviews.org/vv-3/t_land/pages/trl02_002.html
Windjammers
in a Bandwagon
http://www.circusparade.com/album/albmusic.htm
Pawnee
Bill Bandwagon No. 80
http://www.circusparade.com/wagons/w_pawnee.htm
The
Columbia Bandwagon- purchased by James Bailey for
the Barnum & Bailey Circus -- and see this wagon hitched
to FORTY
horses!!! The picture including the wagon & the
band is at the bottom of the page.
The
Mirror Bandwagon
http://www.circusmodelbuilders.org/twohemis.htm
A
clown marching band (Baraboo, WI High School)
http://www.circusparade.com/album/albpic22.htm
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SUPERSTITIONS!
Most performing entities have some superstitions. One of
the superstition in circus bands is that you can not play
Suppe's Light Cavalry March. Quoting from Mr.
Beal's book:
"To play it on the circus lot means disaster and
sudden death.
"You may not believe this but most circus folks do, at
least those who know the facts. Played once in Oklahoma,
a train wreck followed and sixteen were killed. Played
again, this time while [Merle] Evans was on tour
with Miller Bros. 101 Ranch Wild West, a blowdown
followed and 38 fatalities resulted. [A blow down is
a wind that destroys all or part of the tents.]
"And the last time Merle played it a cornet player
died immediately after the performance. That was enough
for Evans. He collected the parts, tied them up in a neat
bundle, and dropped them over the nearest bridge...
"From that day to this the music of Suppe's Light
Cavalry march is taboo. Even its presence in the
music trunk would be considered a serious menace to the
life and safety of the circus
musicians."
A second superstition about the music played, is that the
only time you can play Home Sweet Home is during the
very last performance of the season, the very last song.
Otherwise it could mean the immediate closing of the
show.
Information from:
Beal, George Brinton. Through the Back Door of the Circus
with George Brinton Beal.Springfield, Massachusetts:
McLoughlin Bros., Inc., 1938. p. 1-20.
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