?American Patrol? is the best-known work by Frank White (F.W.) Meacham (1856?1909), an arranger and composer associated with Tin Pan Alley, the home of New York City-based songwriters and music publishers who dominated the popular music of the United States in the late 19th and early 20th century. ?American Patrol? incorporates both original musical themes by Meacham and melodies from patriotic songs of the era such as ?Columbia, the Gem of the Ocean? and ?Dixie.? The ?patrol? format was popular in the latter 19th century, and was intended to represent a military band approaching, passing, and fading into the distance. It typically included an introduction played pianissimo or piano, in imitation of bugle calls or drums, then themes played progressively louder until a recapitulation of the first theme(s), gradually fading away and finishing softly, like the march began. Published for piano in 1885 and for wind band in 1891, ?American Patrol? became and remained popular through World War I and II, enjoying renewed popularity during WWII and beyond thanks to a swing arrangement for Glenn Miller's band by Jerry Gray. �Copyright 2013 Todd Marchand / ConSpiritoMusic.com

I played an arrangement of the Star Spangled Banner for symphonic band way back when and thought that the arranger had the right idea, and have tried to capture this for Brass Quintet . The countermelodies should be brought out but never louder than the melody. Keep the energy through the end. Hopefully, you'll enjoy this, but you can listen to it before you buy. Some challenges for your players (particularly for the trombone, as I am a trombone player), and you may leave out the intro, however, this arrangement has always been a crowd pleaser.