Band width

I have developed a sudden but growing infatuation with "Band" music.

I blame John Philip Sousa.  I had part of "Stars and Stripes Forever" stuck in my head for a couple of days, and had to go find the whole number in order to get myself off that particular section of the piece.

Of course, I noticed that it's actually quite a good piece of music.  And one Sousa piece leads to another, and then you move onto "marches" in general, and then...

Well it all just escalates, doesn't it?

As an Australian, I grew up with images of American marching bands in movies and television programmes but not in "real life".  It seems to be a Big Thing in America - particularly high schools and colleges.

Growing up with American media the way I have, I've heard a lot of that music over the years without really paying attention to any of it.

Here in Australia, we don't really do that sort of thing.  You have to find a community band to join.  There are still band competitions and all that stuff, it's just more of an extra-curricular hobby.  A bit like ballet or squash.  Perhaps we're closer to the British model.  I don't know.

But I've quickly developed a desire to know all about that stuff.  The colour guard, majorettes and associated crap.

But not just the typical American-college-style band.  I also want to know about all those variations of bands.  Pipe bands, brass bands, concert bands, military bands, drum and bugle corp, fife and drum corp... all those things.

There's much to learn.  Now, where to start?