Editing Marching band (section)

==History==
[[File:BlockP.jpg|thumb|The first marching band formation, the [[Purdue All-American Marching Band]] "P Block"]]
Instruments have been frequently used on the battlefield (for example the Iron Age [[carnyx]] and the medieval [[Ottoman military band]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.tsk.tr/ing/2_general_issues/2_1_military_museum/mehter/mehter_general_information.htm |title=Mehter-The Oldest Band in the World |publisher=Tsk.tr |access-date=2014-05-21 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140101141330/http://www.tsk.tr/ing/2_general_issues/2_1_military_museum/mehter/mehter_general_information.htm |archive-date=2014-01-01 }}</ref>) but the  modern marching band developed from European military bands formed in the [[Baroque period]], partly influenced by the Ottoman tradition.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Bowles |first1=Edmund A. |title=The impact of Turkish military bands on European court festivals in the 17th and 18th centuries |journal=Early Music |date=November 2006 |volume=34 |issue=4 |pages=533–560 |id={{Project MUSE|207403}} |doi=10.1093/em/cal103 |jstor=4137306 |s2cid=159617891 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.lipscomb.edu/windbandhistory/rhodeswindband_03_baroque.htm |title=A History of the Wind Band: The Baroque Wind Band |publisher=Lipscomb.edu |access-date=2014-05-21 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141006161007/http://www.lipscomb.edu/windbandhistory/rhodeswindband_03_baroque.htm |archive-date=2014-10-06 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.theottomans.org/english/campaigns_army/mehter.asp |title=Ottoman |publisher=Theottomans.org |access-date=2014-05-21 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140101091445/http://www.theottomans.org/english/campaigns_army/mehter.asp |archive-date=2014-01-01 }}</ref> 
17th-century traveler [[Evliya Çelebi]] noted the existence of 40 [[guild]]s of musicians in [[Istanbul]].<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://archive.aramcoworld.com/issue/201205/mehter.music.echoes.down.the.centuries.htm |title=Mehter Music Echoes Down The Centuries |magazine=[[Saudi Aramco World]] |date=September–October 2012 |access-date=2014-05-21 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130314170347/http://www.saudiaramcoworld.com/issue/201205/mehter.music.echoes.down.the.centuries.htm |archive-date=2013-03-14 }}</ref> 
In the 18th century, each regiment in the [[British Army]] maintained its own military band. Until 1749 bandsmen were civilians hired at the expense of the colonel commanding a regiment. Subsequently, they became regular enlisted men<ref>Major R.M. Barnes, page 231 "A History of the Regiments & Uniforms of the British Army", Sphere Books 1972</ref> who accompanied the unit on active service to provide morale enhancing music on the battlefield or, from the late nineteenth century on, to act as stretcher bearers. Instruments during the 18th century included fifes, drums, the oboe ([[hautbois]]), French horn, clarinet and bassoon. Drummers summoned men from their farms and ranches to muster for duty. In the chaotic environment of the battlefield, musical instruments were the only means of commanding the men to advance, stand or retire. In the mid 19th century, each smaller unit had their own fifer and drummer, who sounded the daily routine. When units massed for battle a band of musicians was formed for the whole.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/ammu/hd_ammu.htm |title=Military Music in American and European Traditions &#124; Thematic Essay &#124; Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History &#124; The Metropolitan Museum of Art |date=October 2004 |publisher=Metmuseum.org |access-date=2014-05-21 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140626131610/http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/ammu/hd_ammu.htm |archive-date=2014-06-26 }}</ref>

In the [[United States]], modern marching bands are often associated with [[American football]] games, with the oldest (the [[University of Notre Dame]] [[Band of the Fighting Irish]]) first performing at an American football game in 1887.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://littlebandman.com/college-band-history|title=College Band History – The Little Band Man Company|website=littlebandman.com|access-date=8 May 2018|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170724171249/http://littlebandman.com/college-band-history|archive-date=24 July 2017}}</ref> After [[World War I]], the presence and quality of marching bands in the American [[State school|public school]] system expanded as military veterans with service band experience began to accept [[Music education|music teaching]] positions within schools with developments such as [[A.R._Casavant#Development_of_Precision_Drill|Precision Drill]], a disciplined geometric march, based in part on military-style drill. Today, marching band competitions remain popular in the United States<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.lipscomb.edu/windbandhistory/rhodeswindband_09_americanschoolband.htm|title=A History of the Wind Band: The American School Band Movement|website=www.lipscomb.edu|access-date=2017-08-07|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170807083804/http://www.lipscomb.edu/windbandhistory/rhodeswindband_09_americanschoolband.htm|archive-date=2017-08-07}}</ref> and largely parallel [[Drum and bugle corps (modern)|modern drum and bugle corps]].

Many marching bands are [[Military band]]s which often derive from instrumentation generally consists of brass, woodwinds and percussion and they typically march forward with consistent straight lines and a constant tempo to facilitate the steady marching of the military unit. Field music units include [[Drum and bugle corps (classic)|drum and bugle corps]], [[fanfare band]]s, [[pipe band]]s and [[fife and drum corps]].

[[File:British Youth Marching Band.jpg|thumb|The Brentwood Imperial Youth Band]]

Military styled marching bands are present in many European countries due to its historical origins in 18th Century European field armies and are present in many other nations due to colonial influence, including Latin America and South America, South and South-East Asia and the Commonwealth (for example [[Fiji]]'s [[Republic of Fiji Military Forces|Military Forces]]<ref>{{cite news |last=Gibson |first=Dawn |title=Military band at Gulf exhibition |url=http://www.fijitimes.com/story.aspx?id=225455 |access-date=13 March 2013 |newspaper=[[Fiji Times|The Fiji Times]] |date=17 February 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131006113549/http://www.fijitimes.com/story.aspx?id=225455 |archive-date=6 October 2013 |url-status=dead }}</ref>) and many ex-Soviet nations (with the USSR inheriting the tradition from the Kingdom of Russia).

Many bands perform a wide selection of both traditional styles of music such as marches, with film scores, or adaptations of contemporary music.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://etd.ohiolink.edu/!etd.send_file?accession=osu1244213799&disposition=inline|title=A Descriptive Analysis of the Eleven Big Ten Conference Marching Band Programs|last=Fuller|first=John Allen|date=1995|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170811184009/https://etd.ohiolink.edu/!etd.send_file?accession=osu1244213799&disposition=inline|archive-date=2017-08-11|access-date=2017-08-11}}</ref> The goal of each band's performance is different. Some aim for maximum uniformity and precision; others aim to be as entertaining as possible. Some show bands also involve comedic elements, such as [[Scramble band]]s which generally do not march in time with the music, but, as their name implies, scramble from design to design.<ref>{{cite web | title = Scramble Bands | url = http://www.princeton.edu/~puband/about/scramble.html | access-date = 2008-05-08 | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080224041742/http://www.princeton.edu/~puband/about/scramble.html | archive-date = 2008-02-24 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://mb.bigredbands.org/history.php |title=Cornell University Big Red Marching Band |publisher=Mb.bigredbands.org |access-date=2014-05-21 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140516151311/http://mb.bigredbands.org/history.php |archive-date=2014-05-16 }}</ref>

Many bands have auxiliaries that add a visual component to the performance such as a [[Color guard (flag spinning)|color guard]] or even dance lines and [[majorettes]]. In the USA, these auxiliaries may even perform as independent groups (such as [[winter guard]]). While military color guards were typically male, band color guards tend to be primarily female, though for both, mixed groups are becoming more common. 

A marching band is typically led by one or more [[Drum major (marching band)|drum majors]], also called field commanders, who are usually responsible for conducting the band (sometimes using a large [[Baton twirling|baton]] or [[Ceremonial mace|mace]]) and are commonly referred to as the leader of the band. Commands—such as vocal orders, clapping, or a whistle—may be used to issue commands as well.