I
Musical ensemble that generally excludes stringed instrument s.
Ensembles of brass , and percussion instruments originated in 15th-century Germany, taking on a particularly military role; these spread to France, Britain, and eventually the New World. In the 15th–18th centuries, many European towns had town musicians, or waits, who performed especially for ceremonial occasions in wind bands often consisting primarily of shawm s and sackbuts (trombones). In the 18th–19th centuries, the English amateur brass band, largely consisting of the many newly developed brass instruments, took on the important nonmilitary function of representing organizations of all kinds. In the U.S., Patrick Gilmore 's virtuoso band became famous in the mid-19th century; his greatest successor, John Philip Sousa , bequeathed a repertory of marches that has remained very popular. The "big band," under leaders such as Duke Ellington and Count Basie , was central to American popular music in the 1930s and '40s. In the rock band, unlike most other bands, stringed instruments (electric guitars and electric bass) are paramount.
II
Type of human social organization consisting of a small number of nuclear families (see {{link=family">family ) or related subgroups who are loosely organized for purposes of subsistence or security.
Bands may be integrated into a larger community or tribe . They generally exist in sparsely populated areas and possess relatively simple technologies; their habitats range from the desert ( Australian Aboriginal s) to the African rainforest ( Bambuti ) to the North American tundra (Kaska). Bands may occasionally coalesce for broader community ceremonies, hunting, or warfare. See also hunting and gathering society ; sociocultural evolution .