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The History of Brass Bands Brass banding is a truly British phenomena which is has it's roots in the working class. It is unique in it's principally amateur status and remains a home for amateur music makers the length and breadth of the country. 
The brass band movement has it roots in the industrial revolution at the turn of the nineteenth century. Brass bands flourished in any town of city where there was organised industry, and not just in the North of England as is commonly believed. The bands usually formed away from the big conurbations at the heart of many industrial cities but tended towards the surrounding villages. In these villages there was less in the way of entertainment than in the cities. Therefore a small, close knit community of about a thousand could easily form a large band. But firstly, why brass bands? The first bands that came into existence around 1815, and were principally brass and wind bands, more akin to our modern day military bands. The most important development for all brass bands was the invention of the valve for brass instruments in 1815. Once applied to the cornet, it enabled the brass to have what would become a leading melody instrument in the ensemble. Second in importance was the invention of the saxhorn family by the renowned instrument maker, Adolphe Sax, in the 1840's. The saxhorn family gave the brass a complete set of instruments from the highest treble to the deepest bass. An instrument that satisfyingly supplied the bass to the ensemble was always a problem, the ophicleide was too weak and hadn't the deep lower notes needed. The primitive tubas used in orchestras at the time were still to weak to support an ensemble. The answer came with the lowest member of the saxhorn family, the BB flat bass, which is now so closely related to the tuba that had become synonymous with it. So with these two developments, the brass had a choir which was homogenous in tone, and so the wind gradually fell out of use in the band. The music they played were almost exclusively arrangements of classical works of the day, usually opera or symphony related, and published accordingly. The publishing companies themselves were very successful at the height of the brass banding's popularity, although original compositions for band didn't come 'in vogue' till early in the twentieth century. Bands were usually formed as the result of a large group of people having common interests and needs coming together. The obvious place is the work place. Bands were formed in two ways, either the bands which were self-initiated by the workers themselves or those which were given help by their employers. Those that started off without any help were usually supported by the whole community, by means of subscriptions from fellow work members and people from higher up the social ladder alike. The ones with company sponsorship, or rarely, private patronage were usually the more successful due to the higher money they would have. The more money a band had, the more attractive it became to players, in return bands could 'poach' players from rival bands by promises of new instruments and the like. Bandsmen were often trained and conducted by someone with a 'proper' musical backing. Many did it for a wage that could only be described as expenses, some even less. The conductor and bandmaster were responsible for the organisation of the band as a musical force. Only later did subsidiary positions such as secretary, treasurer and the like come into force. These positions would normally be filled by band members. The bands attained some of their prestige from concerts and more importantly contests. The concerts were usually in public halls to local people. Only bands of some note or fame could fill concert venues in other towns. The contests, though, provided a great avenue for the players to compete against bands not only in their town or city, but nation-wide. Around the turn of the century contests would have audiences of seventy to eighty thousand people in venues such as Belle Vue, Manchester. The contest material would be either own choice or a set piece. They would usually be selections of composers famous works, overtures or opera compilations. In this way, bands of all standards had something to aim for, whether it be to impress at local concert halls or national contests in front of mass audiences. Brass Bands at our Shows Enjoy local Brass Bands as they play throughout the day. |