Rachael Gros

University Band- Alex Wimmer

Unit Study- Imperial March

Unit 1: Composer
Karl L. King was born on February 21, 1891 in Paintersville, Ohio.
His parents were Sandusky and Anna Lindsey King. The family moved
to Xenia, OH and then to Canton, OH. King first started to become
interested in music because of a local band in Canton. While in the
local band he worked as a newspaper salesman and once he had saved
up enough money, he bought a cornet. After playing cornet he
switched to Euphonium. According to the Karl King Website, his only
formal music lessons were four piano lessons and one harmony lesson.
These came from a show director named William Bradford. His first
experience with band was the Thayer Military Band of Canton, OH
Around this same time, he completed his formal education when he
finished eighth grade. Once he was out of school he became an
apprentice for the printing trade. While working at the print shop, he
would compose at night during his free time. At age 19, he began his
career of playing in circus bands. According to the Karl King Page, he
played with Yankee-Robinson (1911), Sells-Floto (1912), and Barnum
and Bailey Circuses (1913). In 1913 he wrote Barnum and Baileys
Favorite, which became the theme song for the Barnum and Bailey
Circus. He then became a bandmaster for Sells-Floto and Buffalo Bill
Wild West Combined Shows and Barnum and Baileys Greatest Show on
Earth. In November of 1916, King married Ruth Lovett, whom he met
while conducting a band she was a member of. In 1919 he moved back
to Canton, OH and directed the Grand Army Band. The next year he
moved to Fort Dodge, IA and became the conductor of the Fort Dodge
Municipal Band. He remained in Fort Dodge for the remainder of his life
where he composed, conducted, and ran his own publishing company.
He was known mostly for his circus marches, waltzes, and circus
gallops. He published 280 works, 185 marches, 22 overtures, 12
galops, 29 waltzes, and many others (Karl King Page, n.d.). He also
became a part of the American Bandmaster Association in 1930 and
eventually became its president in 1938. He died on March 31. 1971.
James Swearingen was born on September 26, 1947 in Ohio. He
attended Bowling Green State University where he obtained his
undergraduate degree. He then attended The Ohio State University to
pursue a masters degree. He started his teaching career in Sunbury,
OH He then taught band at Grove City High School for fourteen years.
He currently works as a resident composer at Capital University and a
staff arranger for the Ohio State University Marching Band. In 2002, he
was appointed conductor of the Grove City Community Winds.
Swearingen has also traveled all over the world as a guest conductor,
adjudicator, and clinician. He was one numerous awards for his work as
a composer and as an educator. Swearingen has written and arranged
over 500 pieces in his lifetime of many different styles.

Unit 2: Composition
Imperial March (2012) was originally composed in 1911. It was
dedicated to Kings friend R. Frank Wilson who was a sheriff in Start
County Ohio. Imperial March was published by J. E. Agnew under Kings
name. This is unusual because most of Kings compositions published
by Agnew were under the pseudonym of Carl Lawrence. Swearingens
arrangement was published in 2012. The piece is in the style of a
typical march.

Unit 3: Historical Perspective

Imperial march (2012) is a very early composition for Karl L King.
He wrote many pieces for the growing school band programs at the
time. He wrote them so that a beginning player could play a piece that
was still fun and exciting. It was also a way to expose them to different
musical styles that usually were not accessible to young students.

Unit 4: Technical Considerations

Imperial March (2012) is about 2 minutes and 10 seconds in
duration. It is a grade 2 according to C. L. Barnhouse Company.
Swearingen uses standard band instrumentation for this arrangement.
Flute and piccolo stay mainly in their middle range and they play
between E5 and F6. Oboe is also in its middle range and plays between
F4 and F5. Clarinet 1 stays in the Clarion register for most of the piece.
Clarinet 2 plays around the throat tone register with some straying into
the clarion and chalumeau registers. Clarinet 3 and Bass Clarinet stays
in the chalumeau register with some notes in the throat tones. Clarinet
2 goes over the break and play through the break for a good portion of
the piece. This could be difficult for newer clarinet players. All Bb
Clarinets play between C4 and B5 and the Bass Clarinet plays between
F3 and B4. The Bassoon stays in its middle to lower range, this range is
a good place to start for beginners. The Bassoon range is between E2
and A3. The Alto Saxophones stay mostly in the middle to upper part of
their range, although it does go a little low in the trio section. This low
section can be harder for young players to control and the range is E4
and B5. The Tenor Saxophone stays mostly in the middle of their range,
with notes ranging from C4 to F#5. Written in by the arranger, there is
also a choice of playing some of the low notes an octave higher for
players who cannot play lower notes on the tenor saxophone. The
Baritone Sax stays in the middle range for most of the piece and plays
between C4 and F#5. All the trumpets stay within a few notes of the
staff on either side with the range of C4 to G5. The Horns stay in their
middle range and play between C4 and C5. The Trombones stay in
their upper and middle ranges throughout, notes stay between B2 and
F4. The Euphonium stays in its lower range between B2 and F4. The
tuba stays in its lower range between B1 and C3.
The percussion instrumentation is typical for a march with Bells,
Timpani, Snare Drum, Bass Drum, and Crash Cymbals. Each of the 5
parts needs their own player. The Snare Drum will be the hardest part
because it has multiple double stroke rolls of varying lengths. Between
the Snare Drum and Bass Drum, you have the main motor of the piece.
The Bells would be the next hardest part because it plays the melody
for a good portion of the piece. The melody has some leaps and
chromatics that may take some practice.
There is only one time signature used and that is cut time. The
tempo of the piece is half note equals 132. It is in the style of a march
and remains a steady tempo throughout. Students may struggle with
counting cut time especially the smaller notes so doing short counting
activities may help students understand cut time.

Unit 5: Stylistic Considerations

This piece has variety of articulation markings. There are two
main sections of articulations. The main march melody has a lot of
staccatos, accents, marcatos, and non-accented separated notes. The
articulations to use would be dit, DAh, daht, and dah, respectively. The
second section of different articulations is the trio. It has slurs and
smooth legatos. There is also a marking of lightly at measure 5 (m. 5).
Since this could be interpreted many ways it needs to be defined. It is
not a staccato marking and not an indication for heavy accented notes
but instead separated notes that have a clear beginning and ending a
dah articulations is recommended.
The dynamics of this piece range from p to ff. This piece has little
in the way of written dynamics. The first A section is written at mf, the
trio is written at p, and the repeat of the A section is written at ff. There
are a few crescendos in the beginning. After what is written in it will be
up to the conductor and ensemble to decide how to phrase the
dynamics. Balance may become an issue since there are very few
dynamics written in. Discussing balance with the ensemble and who
plays what part will help the overall balance of the ensemble. Also the
p in the trio will be hard to get with good tone for a beginning band.

Unit 6: Musical Elements

Melody:
There are three main melodies in this piece and two counter
melodies. The first melody is in the A section or mm. 5-21 in the Flute
and Trumpet 1 part. The second melody is in the B section or mm. 22-
38 in the Flute, Oboe, Trumpet 1 and Trombone parts. The third main
melody is in the C and C sections, or the trio, mm. 39-102. The melody
begins in the Clarinet 1 and Alto Saxophone 1 parts but then moves to
the Flute, Oboe, and Trumpet parts at m. 71. There are also two
counter-melodies; the Trombones have a continuous counter melody
throughout the piece except in the B section where they join the
melody. The other counter melody occurs in section B with the
Euphonium solo.

Harmony:
The harmonic structure of Imperial march (2012) is fairly simple. The
overall harmonic language is movement between I and V. There are
naturally a few extra chords, such as a C major chord and G minor first
inversion chord, in there but overall the relationship between I and V is
the idea in this piece. The other idea is that only one or two players
have the main melody. Many other parts have a similar line but diverge
to create chords at certain points or run parallel to the melody line.
The B section is an excellent example of this. Almost all parts have half
notes that move together to form chords. The tonal center starts in Bb
Major and stays the same until the C section, or trio section, comes
around with a shift from Bb Major to Eb Major.

Rhythm:
The rhythms in this piece are fairly simple. Since it is written in
cut time students can read a rhythm they are more familiar with just in
a faster tempo. This can help young students who are still not
comfortable with sixteenth or smaller note values. The bass line and
horns keep a steady quarter note pulse. It would be a good idea to
keep an ear on the horns, as they will be playing off beats for the
entire song. The horns also have an interesting line during some
cadence points that involves an upbeat and repeated quarter notes.
This should be emphasized.

Timbre:
The timbre of this piece is bright and full. It is in the typical
march style, with the Trumpet playing melody for most of the piece.
The Trumpet has a bright timbre, which is a characteristic of most
marches. To add to the traditional march timbre, piccolo is also scored.
The trio creates a thin woodwind texture that is different and should be
emphasized. When the second strain of the trio begins the full
ensemble comes back in at a ff level. This is a bright and loud sound
that will carry us through the rest of the piece.
The percussion is also very important to this piece. It is the
motor and adds depth through use of low sounds such as Bass Drum
and Timpani. Because the Snare and Bass Drum play on one and two
respectively, they cover every major beat, which helps with pulse. It
helps give the piece its character with the help of accents rolls and
overall rhythms. The Snare and Bass Drum are in a typical march style
with the Bass Drum on beat one and Snare Drum on the and of one.
Also the percussion texture becomes very light in the first time through
the trio section to make the second time have more depth and
intensity.

Unit 7: Form and Structure

Measure Section: Musical Tonal

Number: Considerations: Centers:
m. 1-4 Introductio This section is in cut Bb Major
n time, begins on
dominant and uses an
ascending line up but
remains on the
dominant.
m. 5-21 (with A This section is in cut Bb Major
repeat) time. The melody is in
the Trumpet 1 and
Flute. The Alto
Saxophones, Trumpet
2, Oboe and Clarinets
provide more power to
the main melody but
do not have the exact
line. Tenor Saxophone
and Trombones
provide a counter line.
Bass Clarinet,
Bassoon, Baritone
Saxophone, Horn,
Euphonium, and Tuba
all provide the bass
line and harmony. This
section is AA with the
repeat.
m. 22-38 (with B This section is in cut Bb Major
repeat) time. The main melody
is in the Flute, Oboe,
Trumpet 1, and
Trombones parts. The
rest of the ensemble,
except for Bass
Clarinet, Bassoon,
Horn, Euphonium and
Tuba, are creating
chords that follow the
same rhythm as the
melody. The Bass
 Clarinet, Bassoon,
Horn and Tuba are
creating the bass line
harmony. Euphonium
has a counter melody
solo in this section.
The Form is AA with
the repeat.
m. 39-70 C (Trio) The time signature is Eb Major
cut time. The main
melody is now in the
Clarinet 1 with the
Flute coming in near
the end of each
phrase. The Alto
Saxophones, Clarinet 2
and 3 create a
harmony with the
same rhythm as the
melody. Tenor
Saxophone, Trombones
and Euphonium have
the counter melody.
Bass Clarinet, Horns,
and Tuba have the
bass harmony. The
Section is AA. The A
section is mm. 39-54.
The A section is 55-70
m. 71-102 C (Trio) This section is a repeat Eb Major
of the C section with
the full ensemble and
a slightly altered
ending.

Unit 8: Suggested Listening

Works by Karl King:
Alamo (1990)
Hosts of Freedom (1984)
Our Heritage (1997)
Big Four (2002)
Barnum and Baileys
Favorite (1972)
Works by other composers:
Circus Bee (1935) by
Henry Fillmore
Rolling Thunder (2002) by
Henry Fillmore
In Storm and Sunshine
(1905) by J. C. Heed
 The Billboard March
(2003) by John N. Klohr
Unit 9: Additional Resources
C.L. Barnhouse Company. C. L. Barnhouse Company, n.d. Web. 11 Dec.
2015. <http://www.barnhouse.com/index.php>.
"Biographical Information." James Swearingen.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 11
Dec. 2015. <http://www.jamesswearingen.com/bio.html>.
"Karl King Page." Karl King Page. Fort Dodge Public Library, n.d. Web.
11 Dec. 2015.
"Karl L. King." Our Composers. C.L. Barnhouse Company, n.d. Web. 11
Dec. 2015. <http://www.barnhouse.com/composers.php?id=141>.
Rhodes, Stephen L. "The Glorious March." A History of the Wind Band.
Lipscomb University, n.d. Web. 10 Dec. 2015.

<http://www.lipscomb.edu/windbandhistory/rhodeswindband_10_glorio
us marchhtm>.
King, Karl L. Imperial March C. L. Barnhouse Company, 2012.