Screamer (march)
A screamer is a circus march intended to stir up the audience during the show.

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 tempo, it was this that ringmasters demanded.

Musicality
Circus marches are faster than a normal military march, often 130 to 150 beats/minute. Although screamers tend to follow the march form, they are often abbreviated, and additions, such as a quick cornet call introduction to a new melody, are included. A typical screamer lasts a minute to three and a half minutes.
Screamers are a very demanding type of music, due to their extremely fast and advanced rhythms, especially the low-brass parts. Double and even triple tonguing 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 which screamers are played, dynamics tend to stay at a level forte. Unlike some military marches, piano is rarely used.

Composers
Composers of screamers included Karl L. King, whose work included "Barnum & Bailey's Favorite", Fred Jewell and Henry Fillmore. John Philip Sousa wrote "On Parade" and a few others, but his writing in the circus march style is not highly regarded.

Examples
The ABA March by Edwin Franko Goldman
Americans We by Henry Fillmore
Barnum and Bailey's Favorite by Karl L. King
Bennett's Triumphal by Melvin H. Ribble
The Big Cage by Karl L. King
The Billboard March by John N. Klohr
Bombasto by Orion R. Farrar
Bones Trombone by Henry Fillmore
Bravura by Charles E. Duble
Bugles and Drums by Edwin Franko Goldman
The Circus Bee by Henry Fillmore
Circus Days by Karl L. King
Circus Echoes by Arthur W. Hughes
Circus King by Charles E. Duble
Coat of Arms by George Kenny
Floto's Triumph by Fred Jewell
His Honor by Henry Fillmore
Invictus by Karl L. King
Klaxon by Henry Fillmore
The Melody Shop by Karl L. King
Onward and Upward by Edwin Franko Goldman
Robinson's Grand Entree by Karl L. King
Rolling Thunder by Henry Fillmore
Sells-Floto Triumphal by Karl L. King
The Squealer by Will Huff
The Screamer by Frederick Jewell
Smilin' Jack by Robert S. Keller
Them Basses by Getty H. Huffine

Marches composed for standard march tempo but frequently performed as screamers
Entrance of the Gladiators (also known as Thunder and Blazes when played as a screamer) by Julius Fučík

See also
Circus music
American march music

Notes
References
Fennell, Dr. Frederick: Screamers (Circus Marches), Eastman Wind Ensemble.
Whitmarsch, Richard: Sounds of the Circus (28 volumes of circus music)