circus music
Big top tunes
Circus music is the lively, distinctive style associated with circus performances—typically featuring brass instruments, calliopes, and an upbeat, slightly chaotic energy.
The sound evokes carousel rides, clowns, and acrobatic acts.
Figuratively, calling something circus music suggests absurd spectacle or frenetic disorder: The press conference devolved into circus music.
- big topMain circus tent
- center ringPrimary performance space
- calliopePressurized pipe instrument
- ringmasterCircus performance director
- lion tamerCircus performer controlling felines
sideshow · cotton candy · John Philip Sousa · marching band · brass section · barrel organ · hurdy gurdy · fanfare · ragtime · novelty songs · oom-pah · polka · snare drum · trumpet · steam whistle · march · tuba · bass drum
- circusbig top, clown, clowns, ringmaster, acrobat
- mood musicfilm scores
- folk dancessquare dances, jig, square dance, polka, line dance
- Victorian-era musicragtime, operetta, waltzes, polkas, Gilbert and Sullivan
- fairground musiccalliope, merry-go-round, mechanical organ, oompah, waltz
circus musicrequiem
Mass for the deceased
funeral march · dirge · funeral music · elegy · lament
circus musicchamber music
Small-group classical compositions
sacred music · Gregorian chant · symphony · opera · classical music
circus musicadagio
Slow musical tempo
largo · ambient music · meditation music · slow movement · lullaby