German military bands – Tunes of Blood and Iron

[joerookery]

While military bands are not my forte I recently reviewed a new book called "Tunes of Blood and Iron" published by Helion – ISBN – 978 – 1 – 909384 – 23 – 1. Dean, Mantle, Murray, and Smart. This 170 page volume represents the German parade and regimental marches from the age of Frederick the Great to the present day. This one is volume 1 – infantry – and it is a wonderful book. A reference book to look things up in not to read. However, the authors go into tremendous detail and give you a tremendous way of looking up different aspects of this music. If you want to know about trombones there is an index to find everything there is to know about it. The index is uniquely divided into sections that make it amazingly easy to find things. This comes with an in-depth knowledge of the rank structure and unique methodology of these military bands. The bibliography alone is absolutely worth your time. You learn how different tunes became part of the lexicon. The authors have looked up English-language sources as well as military music periodicals. They have looked at pre-1945 sources as well as modern ones. I had no idea about the different rank structures used in German bands that were so different from the line units. These authors explained it all. What is of most interest to most users are seeing a number of illustrations/pictures. You are not going to find the same old tired pictures that so many Great War books have but rather a refreshing selection that is well-documented. A great sourcebook.