Sousa's Great Marches in Piano Transcription (Dover Music for Piano) [Paperback]

John Philip Sousa (Author), Classical Piano Sheet Music (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1, 1975 | Series: Dover Music for Piano

Stimulating playing edition has 23 favorites that continue to enjoy wide appeal: "Stars and Stripes Forever," "The Thunderer," "King Cotton," "Gladiator," "Washington Post," "Liberty Bell," "Jack Tar," "Semper Fidelis," "Picador March," "Hands Across the Sea," 13 others in reproductions of original sheet music. Includes 24 illustrations.

Product Details

• Paperback: 122 pages
• Publisher: Dover Publications (June 1, 1975)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0486231321
• ISBN-13: 978-0486231327
• Product Dimensions: 12 x 9 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #405,525 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Sousa without the Oomph!, January 3, 2003

By 

William G. Edwards "Perfessor Bill" (Ashburn, VA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Sousa's Great Marches in Piano Transcription (Dover Music for Piano) (Paperback)

And it's not the fault of the editors either. There was such a clamor for Sousa marches after they had been played in public that his publishers, mainly Church Music in Philadelphia, made the bold move of reducing the band scores to smaller pianistic proportions. This creates an imbalance that is hard to correct. Unlike marches by E.T. Paull, Harry Lincoln and others that WERE written for piano, Sousa Marches were carefully crafted to suit the varying timbres of a military concert band. Therefore on pieces like Liberty Bell, Washington Post and Stars and Stripes Forever, much of the variety and excitement are lost along with some of the piccolo or percussion lines. Cymbal smashes are replaced by high chords, and bass lines are simplified for pianists of average skill. Some of the pieces were transcribed in the key of the brass instruments, making them a step higher on the piano. So why buy it? Historical interest, such as the song version of Stars and Stripes, and the short bio of Sousa contained in the beginning. Most of the covers are more or less identical save the title, but they are also included

4.0 out of 5 stars A good source for the marches, July 3, 2011

By 

Alan Montgomery "Opera lover" (Oberlin, Oh USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Sousa's Great Marches in Piano Transcription (Dover Music for Piano) (Paperback)

John Phillip Sousa wrote so many marches, and at least these 23 are helpful. What is needed is a really first class reduction. There used to be a volume of Sousa marches for Piano - 4 hands. It allowed some of the piccolo in Stars and Stripes to be there (I added more of it). and the arrangements sound complicated enough to be interesting, even though they aren't really that hard. I think it was a Ditson publication.

What I'd really like would be a comprehensive collection in piano duet of about 40 of them. It could even be in two volumes! This volume will have to suffice for now.