The Stars And Stripes Forever By John Philip Sousa

The Stars and Stripes Forever Background "The Stars and Stripes Forever." It's the official march of the United States and it's John Philip Sousa's most famous composition. You've probably heard it before, even if you don't know it by name.
All of his life, John Philip Sousa loved music and loved America, so it's no surprise that he wrote this patriotic classic. Sousa grew up in Washington, D.C., during the Civil War. As a kid, he enjoyed hearing the Civil War military bands that filled the streets of Washington as well as the sounds of his father's trombone. His father played in the U.S. Marine Band and Sousa quickly followed in his footsteps. Sousa first enlisted in the Marine Band as an apprentice violinist and later became the bandleader. When Sousa wasn't playing with a band, he was writing music, like "The Stars and Stripes Forever." By the 1890s he had written enough popular marches to be nicknamed the "March King."
Sousa had natural talents that helped him when he was writing music. He could imagine what a song would sound like just by reading the musical score. Many musicians and composers need a piano to help them hear a song, but Sousa could hear it in his head. He called it his "brain-band." He also had what is called perfect pitch, because he could recognize any note played.
Some of his inspiration came from a "higher power" and some of it came from his imagination. When composing a march, Sousa would often "turn my imagination loose among scenes of barbaric splendor. I picture to myself the glitter of guns and swords, the tread of feet to the drum beat, and all that is grand and glorious in military scenes." Sousa also found inspiration in everyday life. The inspiration for "The Stars and Stripes Forever" came while Sousa was traveling home to the United