Additiona Faces We Miss From The Stage Analysis

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The forty-one-year span between 1864 and 1905 was marked by the ending of the American Civil War and the emergence of industrialization. As troops came home and the rise of big factories became more prevalent, people found themselves with more time for leisure and more money in their pockets. With this time and money, many of the middle class and elite found themselves turning to music as a form of entertainment. Between the late 1800s and early 1900s, middle class families were able to afford to have instruments in their homes. In fact, it was common for women to learn to play piano as a means of making themselves more attractive to men. Due to the rise of industrialization, factories were able to mass produce instruments. Companies made catalogs that provided people with many different options of musical instruments as a means of to efficiently sell the products. These catalogs presented pictures of the instruments along with their prices. To purchase an instrument, customers would follow the instructions on the front of the catalog and make their order through mail delivery. …show more content…

Not only did it symbolize music, but theatre as well. People often turned to theatre as a form of entertainment in addition to music. The artwork on the cover of the sheet music shows the faces of iconic actors from the theatre that audiences miss. A piano piece published in 1900, depicts the tale of Ben-Hur, a fictional nobleman who achieves prosperity through piety. “The Midnight Fire Alarm,” is a non-lyrical piece that people would gather around a piano to listen to. This song gave the American people hope that they too could rise through the ranks. It was a song that restored the concept of the American Dream. Also, the fact that the piece was non-lyrical went to show the improvements in the construction of instruments. These improvements allowed composers to write more complex

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