Corps of drums
A corps of drums, sometimes known as a fife and drum corps or simply field music, is a traditional European military music formation. Historically, a Corps of Drums' primary role was communication.[1] Today, the primary role of a Corps of Drums is ceremonial, performing in parades and military ceremonies.[2] Besides drums, this formation may contain a variety of instruments, including trumpets, bugles, and fifes.
See also: Fife and drum corps and Drum and bugle corpsGermany[edit]
In Germany, Spielmannszug, Tambourkorps and sometimes Trommlerkorps are the names given to both military and civilian Corps of Drums in Germany. These corps commonly feature fifes, snare drums, flutes, piccolos, glockenspiels, bass drums, cymbals, and, on some corps, single and multiple tenor drums, and occasionally bugles. Timpani, vibraphones, marimbas, and drum kits are used in concerts. A Turkish crescent may be used to symbolize these corps, as well as a banner or guidon bearing the ensemble emblem. A drum major always leads the corps during military and civil parades and other events, and in modern corps, even majorettes and pom-pom dancers may be a part of its roster.
Military Corps of Drums are attached to the bands of the Bundeswehr Military Music Center under the Bundeswehr Streitkräftebasis while civilian corps are dedicated civil bands and youth bands assigned in cities and towns across Germany.
From 1955 to 1990, the National People's Army maintained Corps of Drums in the same manner as the Bundeswehr. During the Republic Day parades on October 7th in East Berlin from 1959 to 1989, the national corps included single tenor drums at the front.
Sweden[edit]
Only the Life Guards King's Guard Battalion has a Corps of Drums organized as a platoon. The Svea Corps of Drums (Fältpiparkåren/Livgardets trumkår) is part of the battalion's Life Company, which serves as guards of honor. Until 2009 the Royal Swedish Army Drum Corps served as the official active field music unit of both the Army and the entire Armed Forces, and thus only the Home Guard Command maintained the practice with dedicated ensembles in several areas of the country.
Both the Svea Corps and the Army Drum Corps utilize the same instrumentation as a British corps with a brass section added.
Spain[edit]
Only four Armed Forces formations in Spain carry a full Corps of Drums led by drum majors, who play the fife or keyed flute alongside the drumline. The tradition arrived in Spain during the long existence of the Tercio system.
The Spanish Royal Guard and the Infantry Regiment "Inmemorial del Rey" No. 1 both continue the traditions of the corps. Additionally, the two regiments of the Regulares have a form of a Corps of Drums known as Nuba, which dates to 1911 and thus combines the instrumentation with chirimias, bugles, trumpets, and cornets.
Canada[edit]
Only one Corps of Drums is active within the Canadian Army, and that is the Corps of Drums of Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry. Although it is not part of the Canadian Forces, it is designed to represent the units of the British Army in Upper Canada. As a musical unit, it replaced the regimental band of the PPCLI, which was dissolved in 1994. Based on the British tradition for these units, it is modeled on the Corps of Drums of the Royal Logistic Corps of the British Army. The regimental drum corps is divided into three units which are assigned to different battalions in the PPCLI. These individual drum corps operate as small drum lines. Unlike their British and American counterparts, the drum corps does not utilize flutes or bugles. More historical Corps of Drums can be found in the Fort Henry Guard, Fort George Fife and Drum Corps, and the Fort York Guard, all of which include fifes and are led by a Drum Major and a Drum Sergeant.
In the Royal Canadian Navy, Corps of Drums have been historically attached to military bands at the front rank following the precedent set by the bands of the Royal Navy and the Corps of Royal Marines. After the 1968 Unification of the Canadian Armed Forces, Corps of Drums were dismantled and abolished, though notably made a return in the mid-1980s within the naval reserve. In July 2013, a five-person Corps of Drums was unveiled for the first time by the Naden Band of Maritime Forces Pacific at a Victoria Day Parade.[14]
Known as Bandas de Guerra or banda tradicional, Corps of Drums tradition are also active in the following Central American countries:
The Guatemalan, Honduran, and El Salvadoran corps traditions are mostly active in school-based corps, which mirror the Drum and Bugle Corps of the U.S. and Mexico. In Panama, both the public forces and educational institutions maintain a corps section in bands, while some are standalone formations. In Nicaragua, only the Nicaraguan Armed Forces sports a small corps that is manned by officer cadets modeled on Mexican corps tradition. School-based bands are known as bandas ritmicas, follow the Peruvian pattern, and are percussion only.