Fanfare Bands, Fanfare Corps, Fanfare Battery or Trumpet and Drum Bands (the German Fanfarenzug and Fanfarenkorps and the French Batterie-Fanfares and Fanfares d'cavallerie) are the Marching bands composed of percussion instruments, Natural horns and Fanfare trumpets which are common in Germany and France. Fanfare bands are the descendants of the old medieval trumpet and drum teams that sounded Fanfares on important occasions.
Fanfare Bands are a unique marching and military band that plays for entertainment, public occasions and gatherings as well as competing in various competitions. They evolved from the medieval ensembles of trumpets and drums, and in the ensembles of trumpets and timpani, common in mounted bands.
Fanfare Bands are always composed of single and in some bands multiple Tenor drums, Snare drums, Cor de chasses, Natural horns, Natural trumpets, Bugles and Fanfare trumpets. Bass drums , Cymbals, Glockenspiels and Timpani are sometimes added or are also permanent parts of the band instrumentation. The band is usually led by either a Drum major or a Bugle major or Fanfare major that coordinates the timing and speed of the music being played.
Brass instruments are sometimes a part of the band itself, especially in the Fanfare Corps bands and in the French Fanfare Batteries. These instruments are trumpets and soprano bugles, flugelhorns, trombones, horns, mellophones, saxhorns, baritone horns, and baritone bugles, alto horns, helicons, Contrabass bugles and Sousaphones. Saxophones are included in some of these bands. Sometimes, the bands have only brass instruments and valved bugles, so they are treated like drum and bugle corps and not as true fanfare bands, but some of these bands are treated and named like the latter.
Some bands are combined with the Corps of Drums, so these are full time Corps of Drums having drums, fifes, flutes, bugles and fanfare trumpets.
These bands are made up of Brass instruments, timpani, glockenspiels, fanfare trumpets, cors de chasse and natural horns. These bands are meant for the cavalry, and only a few bands exist today of this formation.