Screamer (march)
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- For the bird family, see Screamer.
A Screamer is a descriptive name for a circus march. In particular, an upbeat march intended to stir up the audience during the show.
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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 rhythm, it was this that ringleaders called for.
Musicality
Circus marches are faster than a normal military march (often 130–150 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 arguably the most demanding type of music, due to their extremely fast and advanced rhythms, more noticeably the low-brass parts. Double and even triple tongueing 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 most military marches, piano is rarely used.
The Composers
The most prominent composer of circus marches is Karl L. King, more notably with his march Barnum & Bailey's Favorite. Other Screamer composers include Fred Jewell, and Henry Fillmore. John Philip Sousa, with the exception of On Parade and a couple of others, did not write any circus marches.
The Popular Screamers
- Barnum & Bailey's Favorite by Karl L. King
- Bennett's Triumphal by John 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
- Circus Days by Karl L. King
- Circus Echoes by Arthur W. Hughes
- Invictus by Karl L. King
- Kiefer's Special by William Kiefer
- The Melody Shop by Karl L. King
- 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 by Julius Fučík