Quickstep (march music)

Quickstep (also given as quick-step, quick step or quick march and known by its German name Geschwindmarsch and its French name pas redoublé) is a lively style of the march music to accompany marches in quick time. Like all marches, quick marches are part of the standard repertory of military bands but they are utilized in a different fashion than the standard slower marches. The slower tempo of the standard march makes it ideal for executing military exercises, reviews and parades. In contrast the tempo of the quick march, twice as fast as the slow march, make it ideal for executing military manoeuvers.

Evidence of the use of music within a military context dates back to Ancient history where advancing armies from a variety of cultures were spurred on by the sounds of musical instruments. Little military music from this period survives. In the Middle Ages European armies had their own unique drum calls, and later writings about European military advances and maneuvers during the 16th and 17th centuries indicate that armies were not only using marches, but that armies were often associated with their own particular marches and march rhythms. The 1908 Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians writes that it is the English name for the music of the quick march in the army, in which there are 116 steps of 30 inches per minute, as compared to 75 steps of 30 inches in slow march and 165 of 33 inches in the double time march.