MUSIC & THE MILITARY

KEEP KIDS L E A R N I N G R E S O U R C E

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AN ANCIENT MILITARY TRADITION

Music has played an important part in the military for thousands of years.  Greek and

Roman armies even employed musicians to play in camps and on battlefields to convey

orders, communicate with, and motivate soldiers.

WHAT WAS MUSIC USED FOR IN THE MILITARY?

In the past musical instruments communicated military battle instructions. By 1700

warfare changed from fierce charges to pressure by movement and massed firepower.

Soldiers of the 1700s needed to move smoothly and in formation, whatever commands

were given. With clouds of gun smoke added to the noisiness of combat, verbal

commands were not always reliable for giving direction to an army.  This resulted in the

introduction of musical instruments for signalling.

Photo credit: From the collection of the Royal Institute of Cornwall. Members of aDuke of Cornwall’s Light Infantry (DCLI) band.

EARLY MILITARY BANDS

Military bands came from the private musicians of

monarchs and nobles and used a range of musical

instruments and influences from different

countries and cultures. They were fashionable at

the time and both enhanced ceremonial duties

and entertained the soldiers. The men who served

in early military bands were both volunteers and

professionals who were also gentlemen, dedicated

to the music they composed and played. Bands

were initially paid for by the officers of the

regiment. Cavalry regiments and infantry

battalions each had their own band. Regiments all

had their own slow and quick marching tunes.

Over time, European national armies standardised

their musically conveyed orders into a set of calls.

Manuals from as early as the mid-16th century list 

calls including Marche, Approache, Assaulte,

Retreate and Skirmish. Being able to identify those

signals and translate them into specific actions

was a basic a training skill.

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This decorated drum is in themuseum’s collection.Campaigns of the Duke ofCornwall’s Light Infantry (DCLI)regiment are inscribed on theside of the drum, including itslast, which was Lucknow, India.On 1 July 1857 a regimental fortwas blown up in Lucknow andboth it and the drum wereabandoned. Amazingly, thisdrum was found intact andreturned to the regiment.

Music has played a major part in the everyday life of the Britishsoldier, whether on campaign or stationed in barracks. Themilitary band has always utilised a variety of musicalinstruments, from a series of large and small bass drums tofifes (small pipes), trumpets and hunting horns. Militarybandsmen had beautiful customised art or banners painted on,or attached to, their instruments. The art related to the pastglories or traditions of the regiment they belonged to. Due totheir exotic nature and prestige, taking military bandinstruments and equipment as souvenirs was encouraged. Music played on the battlefield lifted the morale of marchingand fighting men. The music of the fifers and drummerssignalled orders of commanding officers.

MUSIC AND THE

BRITISH ARMY

At a victory parade during the Crimean War at Scutari in

Turkey, regimental bands, who were not used to

performing together, performed the National Anthem

badly, which was witnessed by the Duke of Cambridge,

Queen Victoria’s cousin.  This led to the establishment of

the Royal Military School of Music at Kneller Hall in

Twickenham to raise standards. Since then, this school has

taught generations of Army bandsmen and is involved in the

education the modern musicians of the armed forces. Find

out more about Kneller Hall here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uWKh13CKvwQ

The battlefield drum outlived its usefulness as gunfire

drowned out its commands. It was replaced with a

bugle, which at the time represented the latest in

military technology!  The bugle was introduced to the

British Army in the 1760s when a new approach to

fighting was being developed.  It was also easier to carry

and operate than a drum or fife and its sharp, brief calls

were perfect in the chaotic fighting of light infantry

operations. Both the Light Infantry and the bugle were

permanently adopted into the British Army by the end of

the 18th century.

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The bugle sounds its arrival!

DID YOU KNOW... THAT THE ROYAL MILITARY SCHOOL OF MUSIC WAS CREATED

BECAUSE OF AN EMBARRASSING MUSICAL PERFORMANCE OF THE

NATIONAL ANTHEM IN 1854?

British Army bugle calls in the 19th century dictated the life of both soldier and officer in the groundsof the barracks. These calls ensured that the regimented life of the soldier ran like clockwork at atime where soldiers didn’t have wrist watches. A soldier’s day was regulated by bugle calls tellinghim when to get up (Reveille), when to eat (Officers' Dinner), when to be on parade (Warning forParade) or when to go to bed (Lights Out).

Regimental bugle calls

Although now recognised as a bugle call signifying a final farewell at a military funeral, and in

accompaniment to periods of silence on military occasions of remembrance, the Last Post originally

indicated inspections of the final sentry posts had been completed and all was secure. Before the

1850s many military bandsmen were civilians and didn’t accompany their regiments overseas, so when

a soldier died abroad there was often no music to accompany him on his final journey. This started a

new custom as the regimental bugler began to sound the Last Post over the grave. It was also played at

funerals and memorials back home.  Listen to the Last Post here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EDS3TxtGaQ0

DID YOU KNOW... THE LAST POST WAS ORIGINALLY A CALL USED DAILY BY THE BRITISH

ARMY?

Military bands linked the Armed Forcesand the public as everyone can relate tomusic. Musical performances promotedthe armed forces and became animportant part of the recruitment drive toencourage men to enlist or join up.

The Duke of Cornwall’s Light Infantry

Cap Badge shows the importance of

the bugle to these regiments.  It

became the main symbol of light

companies, featuring in the insignia of

light infantry regiments throughout

history including the Duke of

Cornwall’s Light Infantry.

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The  DCLI Cap Badge

Music and the First World War

Photo credit: From the collection ofThe Royal Institute of Cornwall. TheDuke of Cornwall’s Light Infantry (DCLI)band are about to start or have justfinished a march which was probablypart of a recruiting drive.

SOLDIER FIRST, BANDSMAN SECOND 

BANDSMAN THOMAS EDWARD RENDLE

Thomas Rendle joined the 1st Battalion,

Duke of Cornwall’s Light Infantry (DCLI)

in 1902.  He was a Bandsman and played

the tuba, which is a brass instrument. 

One of Thomas’ duties was as a

stretcher bearer, which meant that he

carried injured men to safety. In Belgium

in November 1914 Thomas

rescued wounded soldiers with bullets

narrowly missing his head.  He received

his Victoria Cross (VC) medal from King

George V at Buckingham Palace in July

1915.  Thomas was the only man in the

Duke of Cornwall’s Light Infantry to

receive a VC during World War One.  He

later joined recruiting marches across

Cornwall to encourage local men to join

the Army.

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Corporal Thomas Edward Rendle during a DCLIrecruiting march around Cornwall in 1915.

Soldiers who served in the First World

War spent a lot of time waiting for orders

while they were in trenches or while in

reserve, away from the front line.  Music

and singing provided entertainment for

them and kept up morale, provided

comfort and hope, induced feelings of

patriotism and solidarity and was a source

of much needed humour!  Some of the

men would have mouth organs while

others were lucky enough to have

gramophones to listen to in their dug

outs.  Many songs were made up and

based on well-known tunes with funny

lyrics replacing the original ones.

Soldiers also sang the popular tunes of

the day including Keep the Home Fires

Burning and Pack Up Your Troubles.

Singing helped lift their spirits!  For men

who were unlucky enough to spend

Christmas on the front line they cheered

themselves up by singing carols.

Music as entertainment

during the First World War

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· Today military bands perform at ceremonialevents, entertain troops or the public as partof a special event or parade such as onArmistice Day or Trooping the Colour. Theyplay patriotic music which encouragesnational pride and identity including nationalanthems, brass band music and orchestralmusic. Music is still central to Army trainingand parade-ground drilling. It is used tosignal the manoeuvring and changingformations to the soldiers performing theparade drills in the same way it told soldiersof the past to manoeuvre on the battlefield.

Military music today

1.      Think military music is boring? Watch The Top Secret Drumming Corp from

Switzerland https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TxsffsSyFaM

This group regularly perform at the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo and are

incredible!

2.      Sing some First and Second World War songs including: It’s a long way to Tipperary,

Pack Up Your Troubles in Your Old Kit Bag and We’re going to hang out the washing on

the Siegfried Line https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FsynSgeo_Uo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A6QANPqHSIc

3.     Create homemade instruments with household items.  Make shakers with pasta in

empty bottles or use bottles either with filled with varying amounts of water or empty and

scraping them with spoons or sticks to make sounds, or just upturned pans.  Play along to

some of the First and Second World War songs above or to some military marches here:

https://www.letsplaykidsmusic.com/5-best-classical-tracks-for-marching/

4.      Create and compose a piece of military music https://www.bbc.co.uk/teach/class-

clips-video/music-ks2--ks3-compose-yourself/zhrgqp3

5.      Explore the music of the war and put on your own

performance. https://www.bbc.co.uk/teach/school-radio/music-drama-dance-history-ks2-

ww1-musical-archie-dobsons-war-music-part-1-listen-to-the-fields/zfbsnrd

6.      Use musical app Song Maker to compose melodic parts and drum rhythms.

https://musiclab.chromeexperiments.com/Song-Maker/

7.     Use https://html5drummachine.com/virtual-drum-machine/ to compose a drum

piece.

 

8.      Make a drum kit out of: a) cylindrical barrels or water bottles to create a bass sound,

b) plastic or metal bins to create a snare sound, c) pots and pans to recreate hi-hats or

cymbals, d) plastic pipes to create the sound of toms, e) plastic bottles filled with rice to

create a shaker. Create some military inspired drumming.

 

I S S U E 7 - M U S I C & T H E M I L I T A R Y

P A G E 7

ACTIVITIES

    

T H I N G S T O M A K E & D O . . .

The Bugle - The Music of the Light Infantry https://www.youtube.com/watch?

v=ERc0roTCyl0

Podcast - https://bodminkeeppodcasts.libsyn.com/music-military-and-morale

https://bodminkeep.org/the-dcli-boys-the-lost-ww2-song/

https://www.army.mod.uk/who-we-are/corps-regiments-and-units/corps-of-army-

music/royal-military-school-of-music/

Reveille Bugle Call (1946) British Pathe -https://www.youtube.com/watch?

v=mzCW3EoFBtc

Complete British Army Bugle Calls - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=99Bi7Vk06S8

British Army Routine Bugle Calls Part 1 – https://www.youtube.com/watch?

v=i0nhMtnzOso&list=RDi0nhMtnzOso&start_radio=1&t=43

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KJKdld-MNzg

https://bodminkeep.org/a-turkish-delight-the-jingling-johnny/

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ACTIVITIES

    

T H I N G S T O WA T C H A N D E X P L O R E