March

Regular stress in duple time

A march is a piece of music in duple time and in the rhythm of marching, underlining the step. Through regular metric accents in what is usually an even, two-beat time, it is meant to make walking or marching in step easier. Related are processional dances such as the polonaise.

Duple time here means that the beats group into twos, as in two-four time or in four-four time. On the sheet it then says 2/4 or C. Both occur below.

The table compares five pieces from the archive. What they share is the duple time and a pointer to the march in the title or the tempo word. The metronome markings differ: Tchaikovsky gives 140, Grieg 138, and the other sheets give no number. Schumann’s performance direction “Gaiement et bien rythmé” also stands on its own: it names character and rhythm, not the pace.

What the step sounds like

On two sheets the same pattern stands out: a short note falls on the beat, followed by an eighth rest. In Schumann you see it in bar 2, in Tchaikovsky already in bar 1. The rest lets the note end before the next beat arrives; this makes every beat audible on its own. The notation lines show the pattern and a small march with bass and chord.

Marches in the sheet music archive

Piano

• Marsch der Holzsoldaten Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840–1893), from: Album for the Young, op. 39 No. 5 according to the sheet · piano · 1 page

  Above the first line of music is “Tempo di Marcia” with the marking quarter note = 140. 2/4 time, two sharps. In bar 1 a chord falls on the beat, followed by an eighth rest, then a single eighth note and another eighth rest. Already in bar 2 there is a ♯ before an A; in the third line, from bar 16, ♭ are added. In the fifth line the beginning of the page returns.

• Soldatenmarsch Robert Schumann (1810–1856), from: Album for the Young, op. 68 No. 2 according to the sheet · piano · 1 page

  Subtitle “Marche militaire”, below it “Gaiement et bien rythmé”. 2/4 time, one sharp, f in bar 1. The piece has 32 bars. A repeat sign comes before bar 17, a second at the end after bar 32; bars 1 to 16 have none. The final chord is marked f.

• In der Halle des Bergkönigs Edvard Grieg (1843–1907), from Peer Gynt Suite No. 1, op. 46 No. 4 according to the sheet · piano · 4 pages

  Above the first line of music is “Alla marcia molto marcato” with the marking quarter note = 138. Time signature C, two sharps, both staves in bass clef. The first bar carries a fermata; then pp begins with the note “e sempre staccato”.

Guitar

• Gitarrenschule, Stück Nr. 21 Johann Kaspar Mertz (1806–1856), from the “Gitarrenschule” (guitar method) · guitar · 1 page

  Above bar 1 is “Tempo di marcia”, with the time signature C, one ♭ and mf. The first part ends with brackets “1.” and “2.” before a repeat sign; chord symbols, including F, C, G7, Am and E, are above the notes.

• Schwedische Weise Felix Horetzky (1796–1870), No. 42 from “60 National Airs of Different Nations” · guitar · 1 page

  Beside the first line of music is “TEMPO DI MARCIA.”, time signature C, no key signature. In the music there are sf, p, f and “dolce.”; the chord symbols C, G, Am7 and F alternate.

Distinctions

The march is related to the polonaise. The polonaise, however, is in three-four time, as the page on the polonaise shows, the march in duple time. March marking and title need not coincide: in Grieg “Alla marcia” appears as a performance direction above a piece whose title does not contain the word march. There is more on this on the page alla marcia.

Common mistakes

• Playing through the eighth rest: If you hold the note beyond the rest, you take the clear step out of the march.
• Guessing the tempo: Where a metronome marking is given, it applies until a new tempo marking follows; it is missing in Schumann, Mertz and Horetzky, so there you decide yourself.
• Counting 2/4 with four beats: In two-four time there are two beats per bar, not four.