So di they have any form of 'march' music?
Although I don't know about 'march' music, there is a report about a large drum being used to signal to break camp. In the article
The Inner Asian Warriors by Denis Sinor, (
Journal of the American Oriental Society 101.2 1981), on page 135 there is this:
"The splendid organization and discipline of the
Mongol troops is described in some detail by the
Dominican David of Ashby in a book
Les fais des
Tatars written probably in the 1270s:
You have heard how they pitch camp and how they
arrange their guards by day and night in their camps.
And know that they stay as peacefully by night as by
day, like monks in their cloister. Never would you hear
a man shouting there nor a horse neighing, for the
horses are all well-schooled, except those which remain
at stud. Sow I want to tell you how they move their
camp and in what way all the people in the army know
when they must strike their tents and load them up: for
when the tent of the chief has been fastened on, a loud
general summons is given, and for this occasion there
is a wonderful
drum as I will demonstrate and show
you in this diagram.
It is like a very tall whistle of bronze or copper and
across the open top of it there is stretched a large piece
of leather, as you find in a drum used for hunting river-
birds, and this is supported by four stakes as high as a
man's waist, as I have already shown you in the
diagram. And if the chieftain wishes to move camp,
when midnight is passed he orders the drum to be
struck and the man who is allotted this task grasps two
wooden maces in his two hands, as I have shown you,
and strikes as hard as his strength and breath allow
him to do. And know that the wonderful thing about
this drum is that it can be heard easily for a league
around, Immediately great and small prepare their
horses and put their equipment on them.
After a good interval, the drum is beaten for the second time,
then they strike their tents and load up all their possessions,
and the divisions assemble, and those who advance on
the outside go in the vanguard and after them the
others in order right up to the chief who comes last or
in the middle, depending on how the order of march of
the camp is arranged. Then the drum is struck for the
third time and the vanguard moves off and all the
others follow, in very good and regular order. Nor
would you ever hear any outcry or uproar except for
the noise of the horses' hooves, for no one dares to
exclaim or shout when the camp moves nor can any
man ride in front of another except according to the
order prescribed for the divisions. When the camp is
led off in this way, a set of people allotted to the task,
search through the whole area occupied by the army to
collect up the things that have been forgotten. Some
have to collect up all the animals, others, clothes and
equipment of any kind, and if they find any of these
things they keep them or carry them along in the wake
of those who have moved the camp. Those who have
lost something ask these search parties about it and
bring witness and guarantor. Thus they recover by
pledged word all the things they have forgotten and
lost."
NOTE: You can download the above article
The Inner Asian Warriors as a pdf here:
www.deremilitari.org/resources/mongols.htmI know they used Drums ad shamans but how about music?
There is a good article that directly addresses this subject. It is
Earliest Reports About the Music of the Mongols, by Ernst Emsheimer, translated by Robert Carroll.
In ASIAN MUSIC, Journal of the Society for Asian Music, Volume 18, Number 1, Fall/Winter 1986, pp. 1-19.
Using historic sources such as
The Secret History of the Mongols, and also Carpini, Rubruck, etc., the article pools together the mentions of the music and instruments played by the Mongols during the time of the Great Khans. But keep in mind that the information in this article is limited to what is in the sources. Which is not a lot, but it's still a good article.
You can read the first page here:
links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0044-9202%28198623%2F24%2918%3A1%3C1%3AERATMO%3E2.0.CO%3B2-1&size=LARGE&origin=JSTOR-enlargePageYou can find the issue listed here:
www.skidmore.edu/academics/asianmusic/contindex/v18n1.htmlI was able to buy a copy of this older back issue last year so you can probably still get a copy if you really want one. But I do remember I had a hard time contacting them.
But I think I had to contact them from their page on The University of Texas Press page, the contact link is at the top:
www.utexas.edu/utpress/journals/jam.htmlBut wait, I found this - On this page it lists the issue and at the bottom of the page is a link where you can order a single article only. You can have the article emailed to you as a pdf or a paper copy mailed. You have to pay by credit card and it is $15 US.
www.utexas.edu/utpress/journals/archive/am/00449202_ap030034.html