Some folks trust to reason/Others trust to might/I don't trust to nothing/But I know it come out right.(…)/Playing/Playing in the band/Daybreak/Daybreak on the land. Playing In The Band- Robert Hunter and Bob Weir. The Grateful Dead, 1971). Marches were not notated until the late 16th century; until then, time was generally kept by percussion alone, often with improvised fife embellishment. With the extensive development of brass instruments, especially in the 19th century, marches became widely popular and were often elaborately orchestrated. Composers such as Mozart, Beethoven, and Mahler wrote marches, often incorporating them into their operas, sonatas, or symphonies. The later popularity of Sousa's band marches was unmatched. The march tempo of 120 beats or steps per minute was adapted by Napoleon Bonaparte so that his army could move faster. The French march tempo is faster than the traditional tempo of British marches; the British call marches in the French tempo quick marches. Despite the United States' origin as British colonies, traditional American marches use the French or quick march tempo. In fact, U.S. military bands adopted the march tempos of French, Prussian and Polish military counsellors that aided the U.S. during its early wars with Britain. Moreover, the composer of the greatest American marches, John Philip Sousa, came from Portugal, which used the French tempo exclusively. The Canadian marches have been influenced by the British and Scots-Irish traditions as well as that of the pre-revolutionary French army. Scots-Irish move at a similar paces to other British marches, but are distinctly different from them in that they incorporate traditional instruments of Scotland and Ireland, as well as their respective Celtic fringe harmonies. Italian marches have a very "light" musical feel, often having sections of fanfare or soprano obligatos performed with a light "coloratura" articulation. This "frilly" characteristic is contrasted with broad lyrical melodies reminiscent of operatic arias. It is relatively common to have one strain (often a first introduction of the final strain) that is played primarily by the higher-voiced instruments, or in the upper ranges of the instruments' compass. A typical Italian march would be "Il Bersagliere" (The Italian Rifleman) by Boccalari. This march is meant to be played for soldiers that are not marching, but running in a charge. Thank you for your kind comments.