The Liberty Bell (march)

John Philip Sousa · Level 5 (Advanced) · Romantic · Piano

An 1893 march, in the publisher’s piano version. Monty Python used it as the theme of their television series Monty Python’s Flying Circus (1969). F major, 6/8, 212 bars (about 3 minutes), complete score.

▶ Play this piece with the interactive score

How to practise it

• Listen first: the site plays it while the score scrolls.
• Wait mode: the score waits for you at every note, at your own pace.
• Tempo challenge: play in time, with a score and a map of the bars you got right.
• A march in two: bass on the beats, chord on the off-beats, never rushing. In 6/8, count the beats as groups of three eighths (dotted beats) to keep the lilt. One hand sometimes plays two voices: hold the long notes for their full value and let the main line sing louder than the accompaniment. The left hand makes wide leaps: look at the landing note in advance and move early, without rushing the rhythm.

More pieces by John Philip Sousa

• Hands across the Sea
• The Gladiator
• The Washington Post (march)
• Transit of Venus March
• The Stars and Stripes Forever (march)
• The Invincible Eagle (march)

Source : Mutopia Project · Public Domain