Musicas militares, or martial music, is a specific genre of musical performance that has been employed in military settings for centuries. It has been used to announce events as with bugle calls or fanfares, to accompany marching formations with drum cadences, and for a variety of other purposes. Martial music has been employed in battle as well, sometimes to intimidate the enemy, and other times to inspire combatants or to assist with organization of troops and timing of attacks. Musical instruments ranging from drums and cymbals to bagpipes, trumpets or other horns, and brass instruments such as trombone and sousaphone are commonly used in martial music.
Traditionally, some martial music has been written in notation, but much of it is learned and played by ear and relies on group memory to coordinate the sounds. This is a form of oral tradition that can be traced back thousands of years and is a significant part of the cultural heritage of militaries around the world.
For example, the Guerra de Independencia saw American troops marching to the beat of pifaros and tambores, a tradicional europeia that dates to the fifteenth century. The same sort of percussion and vocal melodies have been employed by troops throughout the world, from the patriotic marching songs of China in the 1920s to the famous "Hitler solo tiene un huevo" of the Ejercito Rojo de Rusia in the Second World War.
Other forms of martial music are not performed in written form, but rather are acoustic cues that can be learned and played by ear, such as drum cadences or bugle calls. These are a significant part of the legacy of military music as well, and have been important for establishing a sense of unity and identity among a group.
Lastly, there are also vocal martial Musicas militares songs, including the popular Argentine anthem, "El pueblo argentino" (The Argentina People), which was adopted as a national anthem during the Second World War. These and other vocal melodies have been used to arouse patriotism, unite soldiers and citizens in support of the armed forces, and mark major events such as the funerals of military leaders or the liberation of hostages.
In order to qualify for service in a military band, a person must pass a series of tests and fulfill a number of educational requirements. Typically, those who wish to become a suboficial in the Cuerpo de Musicas Militares must have a titulo superior en Musica en Direccion or Musica en Coro. In addition, those who wish to perform as instrumentalists in a band must have a titulo superior in a trompeta, violonchelo, or trombone. In order to acceder a este cuerpo, a candidato debe cumplir un proceso selectivo que se convoca anualmente por el Ministerio de Defensa. Currently, there are 26 agrupaciones o unidades de musica docentes who belong to the Cuerpo de Musicas de las Fuerzas Armadas Espanolas.
