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I wonder if anyone can identify this tune:

http://www.b-l-keith.net/gramophone-brass-band.m4a

I heard this song on an old gramophone record (5" diameter, 78 RPM). The record contained one song per side. The military-style march was played by a brass band, possibly American, recorded about 1910. It's not a J.P. Sousa march but I guess a more obscure one, as I've never heard it since. Length of song is 2 or 3 minutes.

My family used to own this record but it and the machine disappeared many years ago. I still remember the song because my siblings and I played it dozens of times - but that was some 50 years ago!

Sorry for the mistakes in my piano rendition!

If you can identify the tune (or have it on record), please Email me at [email protected]

Thanks from London, Ontario, Canada!

The tune sounds more like a two-step than a march...

Was the record single sided? Sounds as if it might be a Little Wonder or similar.

Bill

Agree with Bill. It's a syncopated rag-type of piece, duple meter, very simple harmonic structure, with an |:A:|B A' structure. Sounds vaguely familiar, but it's a fairly generic example of its type. Sorry I can't provide further details.

Good clues! I agree, it does sound a bit like a ragtime song, but it definitely used brass instruments (possibly played by a small brass ensemble). It could be that the record had just the one 3-minute song on one side and nothing on the B side.

BKeith wrote:Good clues! I agree, it does sound a bit like a ragtime song, but it definitely used brass instruments (possibly played by a small brass ensemble). It could be that the record had just the one 3-minute song on one side and nothing on the B side.

You said the record was 5" in diameter. It almost certainly was a Little Wonder Record. They measure 5 ½ inches in diameter and play 1 ½ to 2 minutes. Most, if not all that I have seen were single-sided. You can learn a lot more by visiting the website http://www.littlewonderrecords.com/

There is a discography sold that lists all the known titles. Perhaps seeing that list would trigger your memory to recall the title you had. Your arrangement sounds like ragtime and a lot of brass bands did play ragtime songs. However, you should also look at fox trot titles, because "fox trot" was a very abused term. Some early "fox trots" that I've heard sound more like syncopated ragtime.

Have you noticed how many Little Wonder Records are posted on YouTube? I strongly suggest you scan through those.

Is this it?

Beets and Turnips - Fox Trot

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rz6q6u4_uiw

Don't think so. Doesn't sound to me like song Brian posted.