Military band
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A military band is a group of soldiers assigned to musical duties. A typical military band consists mostly of string and wind instruments (typically kept in rugged travel cases). The military band should be capable of playing ceremonial and marching music, including the national anthems and patriotic songs of not only their own nation but others as well, both while stationary and as a marching band.
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Military bands also play a part in military funeral ceremonies.
There are two types of historical tradtions in military bands. The first is military field music. This type of music includes bugles (or other natural instruments such as natural trumpets or natural horns), bagpipes, or fifes and almost always drums. This type of music was used to control troops on the battlefield as well as for entertainment. Following the development of instruments such as the keyed trumpet or the saxhorn family of brass instruments, a second tradtional of the all brass military band was formed.
During the American Civil War most Union regiments had both types of groups within the unit. However, due to changes in military tactics by the end of World War I field musical had been mostly phased out in favor of the brass bands. In the United States, these bands were increased in instrumentation to include woodwinds, which gives us the modern miltary band in the united states, as well as the basis for high school and college marching bands and concert band.
Field music is still popular at cereimonal functions, with many organizations such as police, fire, and vetrans groups maintaining pipe and drum, fife and drum, or drum and bugle corps.
In the United States Army, the band is attached to the headquarters element and one of its duties is to provide security for the command post. British Army bandsmen are trained as combat medical technicians. Modern-day military musicians often perform a variety of other styles of music in different ensembles, from chamber music to rock and roll.