Figure 1.--Here we see a German boy in 1930 practing music at home. He seems to be wearing a play pinafore. The snapshot was taken in 1930 and the little boy is learning Schubert. I'm not sure just what the instrument is that he is playing. |
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Germany is perhaps more famed for music than any other country. Many of the most beloved classical compsers were German. We are unsure just why this was, but surely the education system is at least partially responsible. Hopefully our German readers will provide some insight here. We are unsure just how Germany approached music instruction. We suspect is was essentially a matter of home training by musically inclined parents and private instruction. This would suggest that it was largely a middle-class phenomenon. We are not sure at this time how common instrumental music was among working-class Germans. Churches may have also played a role. Many important figures in German music cae out of church choirs. Both Catholic and Protestant churches had choirs.
Germany of course until the 1870s was split into many different countries and other jurisdictions.
So there may have been substantial differences among the different German states.
At this time we only have some limited information on marching bands. We note portraits of boys with instruments. We are unsure at this time just how popular different instruments were among German boys.
Germany is perhaps more famed for music than any other country. Many of the most beloved classical compsers were German. The list is huge including Beethoven, Bach, Brahms, Handel, Mendelson, Mozart, Strauss, and many other famed composers. We are unsure just why this was, but surely the education system is at least partially responsible. Hopefully our German readers will provide some insight here.
We are unsure just how Germany approached music instruction. We suspect is was essentially a matter of home training by musically inclined parents and private instruction. This would suggest that it was largely a middle-class phenomenon. We are not sure at this time how common instrumental music was among working-class Germans. Churches may have also played a role.
Many countries of Western and Central Europe have a long tradition of church boys' choirs dating back to the medevil era. Germany has like, neigboring countries, has an important choral tradition. Some of the most beautiful choral music has been written by German composers, for choirs--including many pieces for boy choirs. A great deal of music scholarsip exists on this music. Much less information exists on the choirs and boys who sang this music. Many important figures in German music came out of church choirs. Both Catholic and Protestant churches had choirs.
Germany of course until the 1870s was split into many different countries and other jurisdictions. So there may have been substantial differences among the different German states.
At this time we only have some limited information on marching bands.
We do not yet have much information about instrumental music in Germany. We do not know much about the relative popularity of the various instruments that children have played. We note portraits of boys with instruments. They do not seem to be as common as similar American portraits. But they may because our German archive is still relatively small. We hope that the photographic record will shed some light on the relative popularity of different instruments. Of course this has varied over time.
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