Figure 1.--The photographic record provides in nsights in the developing music instruction in America. Weseeall kinds of children learning musical intruments. This boys looks eather young to be palying the drums. But the drm set seems arather elkaboratestudio prop. The unidenifed boy wears a sailor suit and has unusual longback hair. He looks to be about 5-years old. The porrait is undated, but the mount suggests it was taken about 1900. The studio was A.W. William in Ferndale, California. Click on the image for a more detailed dscussion of his oufit.

We are using the phonographic record as a indicator of popularity and the relative number of the instruments. We are not entirely sure that this is conclusive evidence, bu it seems to be a reasonable indicator, at least in he 19h century which studio portraits were the primary photographic type. An exception may be children who took up the piano. They could not very well bring their pianos to the studio. And a piano is an expensive prop. A reader writes, "You mention that one sees many more portraits of children holding violins rather than with other instruments. The influx of European immigrants may have been a factor affecting instrumental music in the late-19th and early 20th centuries. I am wondering if this was for photographic reasons rather than the popularity of the instrument. It must be much easier to pose a child holding a violin that seated at a piano, with all the furniture moving involved. Wind instruments with the light reflecting of the brass too might have been a problem." We rather agree, about the piano, we are much less sure about brass instruments. There may, however, have been other complications. And there variations over time. As indoor photography became more common, we suspect that the relative appearance of instruments as a valid indicator was much more common. As for immigration, it is interesting to note that American immigration began to increase hugely after the Civil War (1861-65) which is precisely when we begin to see instruments appearing in the photographic record.

Created: 2:23 PM 12/7/2024
Last updated: 11:13 AM 12/12/2024