A Screamer is a descriptive name for a circus march.
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 where 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
- The Big Cage by Karl L. King
- The Billboard March by John N. Klohr
- The Screamer by Frederick Jewell
- Rolling Thunder by Henry Fillmore
- The Melody Shop by Karl L. King
- Smilin' Jack by Robert S. Keller
- Circus Echoes by Arthur W. Hughes
- Kiefer's Special by William Kiefer
- Thunder and Blazes by Julius Fucik
See also
For the bird family, see Screamer
