Oktoberfest

The Oktoberfest festival began in Munich in 1810. From its earliest decades, brass bands and military/municipal ensembles provided music for parades, processions, and dances. The regional dance forms of Bavaria and the Alpine world—polka (2/4), Ländler and waltz (3/4), and various marches—defined the foundational repertoire, performed by wind/brass bands (Blasmusik) and string/accordion groups.

As the fair grew, large beer tents institutionalized all‑day music. Bohemian/Egerländer and Oberkrainer styles (with clarinet, flugelhorn, baritone/euphonium, tuba, accordion) strongly colored the sound. Bandleaders codified the upbeat "oompah" feel and audience participation practices—clapping patterns, toast songs such as the ubiquitous short "Prosit"—to keep crowds engaged.

Radio, records, and television popularized Schlager and volkstümliche Musik, both readily embraced in the tents. Brass arrangements of polkas and marches alternated with major‑key Schlager sing‑alongs, cementing the modern Oktoberfest set: traditional numbers, dance tunes, and easy pop choruses everyone can sing after a toast.

Since the 1990s, bands routinely adapt contemporary hits to the beer‑tent idiom (faster tempos, oompah beat, massed choruses), while alpine pop groups bring high‑energy showmanship. Replica Oktoberfests worldwide (North America, Asia, Australia) imported the format—brass‑led dance tunes, Schlager sing‑alongs, and toasts every 15–20 minutes—making the musical style a global shorthand for Bavarian festivity.