[March] A curated selection of classic marches and dazzling crowd-pleasers for concerts!
A march is a type of musical piece for marching.
In everyday settings, it’s often used as background music for parade-style processions at school sports festivals.
Originally, marches were performed for military parades and ceremonial occasions such as weddings and funerals.
When we think of marches, we often picture powerful percussion rhythms and bright, brassy melodic lines.
However, there are also pieces known as concert marches—written for performance in concert settings—that are characterized by an elegant, beautiful atmosphere.
In this article, we’ll introduce a variety of marches all at once, and we hope it will help you choose background music for processions or select repertoire for concerts.
- [March] Carefully selected popular songs recommended for entrance and exit at sports days and athletic festivals!
- Perfect for free selections and concert programs! Introducing famous and classic favorites in wind ensemble music.
- A classic brass band medley
- [Sports Day] Entrance songs that will hype the crowd! A comprehensive roundup from classics to the latest hits
- [History] A roundup of popular set pieces from the All-Japan Band Competition
- Songs with cool trumpet. Introducing famous pieces from wind ensemble and jazz.
- [Brass/Wind Band] Recommended for Beginners! A Collection of Classics and Popular Pieces Perfect for Practice
- [Wind Band] Guaranteed to hype up the school festival! Recommended pieces the brass band will want to play
- [Japanese Military Songs and Marches] A collection of famous Japanese pieces deeply etched in the hearts of the Showa and wartime generations
- Recommended pieces for a wind band contest
- Top Songs to Hype Up Sports Day and Athletic Festivals [2026]
- A collection of video game music I want to perform in a wind ensemble
- [March] A selection of famous march masterpieces played on the piano!
March: A curated selection of classic marches and dazzling crowd-pleasers for concerts! (21–30)
Officer cadetJohn Philip Sousa
This piece is by the American composer John Philip Sousa, who wrote so many marches that he’s known as the “March King.” It’s one of the most well-known among his many marches.
The stately melody perfectly embodies the word “march,” and just listening to it makes you want to step in time with the tempo.
Amid the powerful performance, there are phrases with nuanced dynamics and call-and-response between high and mid-low instruments, making the structure engaging and never boring.
It’s perfect for a school sports day performance.
old friendCarl Teike
It is a famous German military march, composed in 1889 by composer Carl Teike.
It is also known as one of the world’s three great marches.
Although it is now considered Teike’s signature work, it reportedly was not well received at the time.
The title “Old Comrades” was named after Teike’s comrades-in-arms from his time in the army.
In Japan, the piece is familiar as background music for school sports days, television, radio, and sports programs.
With its stately melody, it’s the quintessential march.
Why not choose it as the entrance music for your school sports day or athletics festival?
March: Carefully selected classics of marches and dazzling pieces popular in concerts! (31–40)
March “Beyond the K-Point”Takahashi Shinya
A passionate and powerful wind band march adds vibrant color to any sports day.
Composed by Shinya Takahashi in 1999 as a set piece for the All Japan Band Competition, this work is named after the K-point in ski jumping.
Its charm lies in a bright, lively melody interwoven with modern harmonies that create a rich, resonant sound.
You can enjoy a commanding performance of this piece on the album “All Japan Band Competition: Reference Performances of Set Pieces 1997–1999,” recorded by the Osaka Municipal Symphonic Band (now the Osaka Shion Wind Orchestra) as a reference rendition.
From scenes of vigorous marching to the opening of the ceremony, this is a piece that shines in every moment of a sports day.
Just listening to it straightens your posture and gives you a refreshing urge to step forward—perfectly suited to the spirit of the event.
RaijinJohn Philip Sousa
It’s a piece by the American composer John Philip Sousa, written in 1889.
In Japanese, it’s also known as “Raijin March” or “The Thunderer.” The title’s “thunder god” refers to Zeus from Greek mythology, who wields thunder as his weapon.
There are passages where the brass instruments depict lightning and thunder, so it might be fun to listen while trying to spot them.
It’s a relatively easy piece to perform, so it would be a good choice for a school band or wind ensemble concert.
Grand MarchKonagaya Soichi
Grand March is a march composed by Soichi Konagaya.
It was written in 1996 for a selected band in Shizuoka Prefecture and attracted attention after being published by De Haske in the Netherlands.
The piece opens with a brilliant trumpet fanfare, and when the lower voices of the trombones and horns join in, a majestic sonority unfolds.
True to Konagaya’s background as a percussion specialist, the percussion writing really shines in this piece.
It’s also perfect as an entrance march, so give it a try!
Colonel BogeyKenneth Joseph Alford
Colonel Bogey, well known from the parody song “Sarugorilla Chimpanzee,” actually doesn’t use a person’s name—“bogey” is the golf term.
The piece uniquely incorporates a section meant to evoke the whistling one might do after scoring a bogey in golf.
For some reason it’s popular as a parody song not only in Japan but also in the United States; however, it’s such an elegant and grand standard march that it almost seems a waste to turn it into a parody.
If you’re looking for BGM for a sports day entrance march or a piece for a concert, definitely consider selecting this one!
Warship MarchSetoguchi Fujikichi
This is a march composed in 1900 by Tokichi Setoguchi, based on a song originally written in 1893 as a military song.
Also known affectionately as the “Warship March,” it was widely known before the war and remains one of the pieces frequently performed by the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force today.
As a work derived from a military song, it features a boldly dignified melody and crisp, march-like accompaniment—plenty of highlights to enjoy.
It conveys a refined atmosphere that suits not only use as a march for events like sports days but also concert performances.