Civil War Instruments History Essay

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There are many diverse types of instruments, such as the string family, the brass family, and the percussion family. It was around the era of the Civil War that a precedent for a massive rise of band instruments during mid-nineteenth-century America occurred. Every member of any band that uses any instrument should owe a thank you to this time period of American history. Discussing specific types of instruments that were created during the Civil War, a few of them were the banjo and the bugle, and they have all gone through upgrades throughout these past decades. During the Civil War, the brass keyed bugle became one of the most popular forms of military field music. The bugle is “...similar to the instrument but without keys or valves” (The Kennedy Center). Due to the …show more content…

For starters, as previously mentioned, the resonator was added to the banjo sometime during the life of Henry C. Dobson. Around the time of World War I, the popularity spiked due to America entering, “...a time of isolation and turned to ‘American made’ music for pleasure. Jazz entered the picture and the banjo became an integral part of the early jazz bands.” (Reese) The strings also were changed into metal ones, although some people might want to use nylon in order to bring back the banjo of the Civil War. Overall, the Civil War, regarding the instruments used back then, set a bar for the future of the way music is played. The bugle, even if it is barely used in modern ensembles, gave way to the trumpets and cornets that most fans of orchestrated music love. As for the banjo, it has grown from it’s limited roots to something that can be manipulated to create beautiful melodies. The drums and fifes, while not discussed, also had major impacts upon the music industry. All four of these instruments, alongside every other Civil War instrument, were just the beginning of a long line of symphonic

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