A pep band is an ensemble of

instrumentalists A musician is a person who composes, conducts, or performs music. According to the United States Employment Service, "musician" is a general term used to designate one who follows music as a profession. Musicians include songwriters who wri ...

who play at events, usually athletic, with the purpose of entertaining and creating enthusiasm in a crowd. Often members of a pep band are a subset of people from a larger ensemble such as a

marching band A marching band is a group of instrumental musicians who perform while marching, often for entertainment or competition. Instrumentation typically includes brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. Most marching bands wear a uniform, ofte ...

or a

concert band A concert band, also called a wind band, wind ensemble, wind symphony, wind orchestra, symphonic band, the symphonic winds, or symphonic wind ensemble, is a performing ensemble consisting of members of the woodwind, brass, and percussion famil ...

. Pep bands are generally associated with performing at

pep rallies A pep rally or pep assembly is a gathering of people, typically students of middle school, high school, and college age, before a sports event. The purpose of such a gathering is to encourage school spirit and to support members of the team. It ...

and sporting events (usually

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

hockey Hockey is a term used to denote a family of various types of both summer and winter team sports which originated on either an outdoor field, sheet of ice, or dry floor such as in a gymnasium. While these sports vary in specific rules, numbers o ...

). With a few exceptions, pep bands are exclusive to the collegiate and high school levels. The typical instrumentation of a pep band is the same as most

s, using mainly woodwind, brass, and percussion instruments. Pep bands typically don't use primarily orchestral instruments (double reeds, strings, etc.), but this is not a hard set limitation. Pep bands have been in existence for a very long time, however their origins are vague and hard to find. The concept of pep band most likely sprung from marching band (a band during sporting events with choreography while they play music, normally with uniforms). Most high school and collegiate marching bands also serve as a pep band when not performing on the field. While playing at competitive events, should both teams have a pep band, the bands will compete and go back and forth playing songs. Pep bands usually have a repertoire that consists primarily of rock and pop music, with styles such as jazz, R&B, rap, funk, and movie themes also fairly common. Pep bands will also sometimes perform their school's songs (most commonly their alma mater and fight songs), and the country's national anthem (e.g

The Star-Spangled Banner "The Star-Spangled Banner" is the national anthem of the United States. The lyrics come from the "Defence of Fort M'Henry", a poem written on September 14, 1814, by 35-year-old lawyer and amateur poet Francis Scott Key after witnessing the b ...

O Canada "O Canada" (french: Ô Canada, italic=no) is the national anthem of Canada. The song was originally commissioned by Lieutenant Governor of Quebec Théodore Robitaille for the 1880 Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day ceremony; Calixa Lavallée composed the mus ...

) prior to the start of a game or event.

References

See also