Using Music To Teach The Civil War Analysis

Lynn Waller and William D. Edginton, in their article, “Using Music To Teach The Civil War,” writes that “the most common book in a... soldier’s backpack was a bible, and the second most common was a songbook,”. This implies how important music is for soldiers during times of war. Because music can be considered universal, many soldiers both appreciate and make music for its many uses.
Music is universal as it is distinguishable from other sounds. Eric A. Gordon, author of the speech, “The Airborne Symphony” states that, “music has been able to give voice to a sense of existential hope and despair in ways that remain recognizable and that transcend the historical moment,”. Another article titled, “CLASSICAL MUSIC; Why Music in a Time of War?” by Leon Botstein, President of Bard College, comments, “that …show more content…
In an article by Johanna De Schmidt titled, “All Quiet On The Western Front,” Johanna shares the account of a French soldier by the name of Robert Plard, who shared an experience of hearing soldiers play a broken piano, or any piano, when they had an opportunity. Johanna De Schmidt observes that, “detached from any objective sound criteria, soldiers in the trenches highly valued any musical instrument for its mere existence; even if the musical quality of an instrument was low, the instrument itself was still of high significance for the soldiers,”. Johanna also remarks that, “the desire to protect a musical instrument… appears to have been a common understanding among several soldiers,”. Johanna De Schmidt shares an example when Ernest Mangeret and his friends took time to transport a piano to a basement for further safety. Johanna comments on the account, saying, “the desire to protect a musical instrument in the immediate surroundings of the front line was therefore not that of a single musician or music lover,”. Music can be relatable to and appreciated by everyone, and can create