The origin of Marching Music Day can be traced to the founding of Drum Corps International (D.C.I.) by 13 founding member organizations that wanted to govern and standardize marching bands competitions throughout North America.
It acts as a governing body for junior drum and bugle corps and is responsible for developing and enforcing rules of the competition and for providing standardized adjudication at sanctioned competitions throughout the United States and Canada. D.C.I. founded Marching Music Day to celebrate marching music as an “engaging and ever-expanding art form around the world.”
The ‘march’ music genre contains powerful rhythms in a regular pattern, this makes the genre suitable for marching. Military bands use this music as it expresses the motion of their march. As mentioned, the holiday is in celebration of the different art forms that bring us “music on the move.” Although the genre of music has strong military roots, its usage has evolved into an art form used to move us during somber memorials and thrill us in times of relief.
For centuries, the rhythm of the ‘march’ music genre has kept military units and different other bands moving in unison as they are performed in auditoriums and grand arenas to spectators’ delight. From small parades to impressive spectacles, fifers, pipers, buglers, drum corps, marching bands, parade groups, drill teams, and color guards bring this genre of music to life and audiences to their feet, blaring an enthusiastic roar.