Marcia

Composer(s) / Arranger(s): Gary Runsten

Performance Time: 2:23  |  Grade: 2  |  Style: March, Contemporary

Marcia, the Italian word for a march, is a piece written for young bands and mimics the traditional march style. This piece presents an excellent opportunity for teaching young bands the march style and the 6/8 meter. Parts for oboe, bassoon, bass clarinet, and baritone sax are optional, and at all times double some other part at the unison or octave. 

The piece begins in d minor, and instead of the traditional change to the subdominant key at the trio, changes to the relative major, F major. A tempo of mm=120 is marked, and should facilitate technique in the 6/8 meter. 

The first strain (at m.5) is a forte unison trumpet melody with accompaniment. The second strain at (at m. 37) contains both a woodwind feature section and a brass feature. The first two strains and the segue to the trio are connected with percussion. The percussion break (at m.69) should be bold. 

The trio melody is presented in three treatments. The first (at m.73) is the melody in the upper winds with a subtle accompaniment in the lower winds. The snare part, although simple in appearance, is very important to the style. The second (at m. 89) has a very subtle melody in the low woodwinds with a chance to feature a trumpet soloist on a trumpeting accompaniment with a snare part that plays rhythmically off the trumpet part. The third (at m. 105) is a full tutti. Make the countermelody here equal in importance to the melody. The full tutti continues through the ending section (at m.121).