Analysis of Sousa's Stars and Stripes Forever

Hello everyone! Summer is always a time of patriotic feelings and parades. In honor of both, we have decided to upload an analysis of John Philip Sousa's "Stars and Stripes Forever" (done by @cmp2020). Let's get into the analysis:

Analysis

Form

This march is in the standard military march form (which was supposedly derived from Sonata form. I am not buying that). It consists of an introduction which leads to the dominant and is 4 measures long. Then comes what is referred to as the first strain. This is the first melody of the march. This "strain" is 16 measures long and repeats. This first strain ends on the dominant (in this case) so the second strain is also 16 measures long and serves the function (in this case) of introducing new material whilst modulating back to the tonic. Then comes the famous trio section which modulates up a fourth (or down a fifth depending on if you are a glass half full or half empty kind of person) to A flat major. The first strain of this section (which is actually the third strain) is the longest strain in the entire piece at 32 measures. This strain introduces a contrast with the other strains. It is soft and legato. This strain is then followed by, what is referred to as, a breakstrain. This strain serves the purpose of spicing things up again. Then, the first (third) strain "recapitulates" with a piccolo solo overtop of it. The breakstrain repeats, and we finally here a loud and exciting finale of the third strain one last time. I can see how the trio might resemble sonata allegro form, but I don't see how the first section fits into that idea. You will be able to see each of these sections labeled in the analysis video. Source for the military march form.

Harmonics

German 6th

In measure two, there is something which has at least a c-flat, g-flat, and e-flat. I just assumed it is a German Augmented 6th because there is an a natural in the melody and it is functioning as a whole as a predominant.

Overall

Overall, the harmonic structure of this piece is very well thought out. The chords usually serve their function and fit the melody well. I will say that there were a lot of occasions where Sousa borrowed chords from the minor key. The seeming first example of which is in the 3rd to last measure of the first strain. There is a g-flat (suggesting a minor i). However, I considered it to be a passing tone, and still ruled the overall harmonic function to be a Cadential 6/4.
I the trio's first theme's accompaniment, I deemed the lowest note (E-flat) to be a pedal point. I then later deemed the higher C's in the V/vi and vi to be pedal points. overall, you will be able to tell where I viewed something as a pedal point because I circled it. I had to use an adobe editor to add my analysis because I did not have to time to copy the score into noteflight. Anyway, here is my analysis of John Philip Sousa's most famous march, "The Stars and Stripes Forever:"

Previous Analyses

• The Rustin High School Alma Mater by Samuel Barber (7/17/18)
• The Star Spangled Banner (Our Nation's National Anthem)(7/18/18)
• The Stars and Stripes Forever by John Philip Sousa (7/19/18)

Closing

Thanks for reading this! As always, feedback is appreciated. Please let us know what you think of the analysis. Have a nice day!

Appendix

Here is another performance of "The Stars and Stripes Forever," but with a choir:

The @rgkmb-unofficial account is an experimental account that is operated by Steve Palmer (@remlaps). The account's purpose is to demonstrate the viability of a fund-raising model that is based on use of the Steem block chain in the community. The account's goal for 2018 is to raise enough money to send one student on the Rustin Golden Knight Marching Band's trip from Pennsylvania to Florida in December for performances in the Citrus Parade and in Disney. For more information, see our introductory post: Introducing Steem to the Rustin Golden Knights Marching Band

Thank you for your time and attention.

Posted by Christopher Palmer (@cmp2020)

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