Throughout its history Iowa has always had a strong musical tradition and even in its early years the settlers formed bands when the occasion called for it. In "A Short History of Bands in Iowa," in the Iowa Music Educator, Frederick Crane states, "By the time of the Civil War, Iowa had an abundance of good band musicians, and most of the volunteer regiments that the state contributed to the Union cause maintained bands."1 After the Civil War bands became very common and almost every community had one. For this reason, the period from 1865-1920 is called the Golden Age of Bands. These local bands ranged in size from as few as six to as many as thirty-five members. They were predominately brass and may have had a snare drum, a bass drum, a few clarinets, and a flute or piccolo.
| These early bands were made up of mostly adult males, although occasionally boys were allowed to take part. They played at nearly any event that would draw a crowd; including parades, political meetings and rallies, festivals, drills and ceremonies of local military units, firemen's tournaments, fairs, Chautauquas, picnics, ice-skating parties, balls, and river-boat trips. They also played in band contests and gave concerts of their own. Unfortunately, many of the bands from Iowa towns were short-lived. |  |
An exception to this was the Cedar Falls Band. Members of the Cedar Falls Band included high school and college students as well as business and professional men of the city. All members of the band played for fun and for the pride of being involved with one of the best bands in the country. No members received pay. The Cedar Falls Band is the oldest musical organization of its kind in the state of Iowa and, accordingly, it has a long and storied history.
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