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Music During The Revolutionary War

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The use of music has been an integral part of American military services since the American Revolutionary war. Before evolving into the modern day band to provide ceremonies and entertainments, music was mainly used for signal, communication, and physiological effects (The Music of War). During the Revolutionary War, the most commonly used traditional instruments were the flutes, trumpets, bugles, and drums. After the establishment of present day small group ensembles and marching bands, musicians began to perform for the public, state ceremonies, parades, and pass and reviews (History of Military Music). However, with the economic downturn and increased military spendings in the past decade, politicians are becoming more skeptical of the annual …show more content…
In the fiscal year of 2010, the US spent an estimated 500 million dollars in the music program (Defense Department Spends $500 Million to Strike up the Bands). The money could have been invested on protecting our soldiers overseas, improving Veteran’s Affair hospitals to help speed up the average appointment time of one month, and improving subside services, such as the GI Bill. home loans, and life insurances, for veterans (VA Data Show Disparities In Veteran Benefits Spending). Similarly, this 500 million dollar can be utilized to upgrade armored personnel carriers from the underprotected humvees to the beefed up MRAPs that are more likely to withstand IED explosions. As the visual shows one the left, the humvee is obliterated after the IED explosion but the MRAP, although sustained damage, is more likely to save the crew inside the vehicle than its predecessor, thus saving more lives. Additionally, Robert Gates has stated “not every defense program is necessary”, implying some programs, such as the music program, in our armed forces are unnecessary and can be cut. With the money saved, other programs and agencies like the State Foreign Service, which can potentially improve international relations through diplomacy, can be strengthened and …show more content…
Adding on to the already existing arsenal of jobs, the modern day ensembles provide an important role in ceremonies such as inauguration and state arrival ceremony that represent our nation and its military forces (History of Military Music). Imagine the inauguration parade without the marching band and music. What would it look and sound like? Very awkward right? These international performances for other nations’ president or head of state could possibly improve diplomatic relations with unexpected results. In a similar case in 1996 after the cold war, in a peacekeeping mission in Bosnia, the 1st armored division band was assigned to entertain its Russian counterparts. According to a U.S. state department liaison officer he claimed that the band “ did more for the U.S.-Russian relation in 90 min than he had been able to do in 30 days”. (Document Friday: George Washington Says, "Nothing Is More Agreeable, and Ornamental, than Good Music). The military band was able to entertain the Russians and establish a mutual understanding between the Americans and Russians when actions and language could not. This proved the efficiency of a military band and how bands can be necessary in tense situations. With bands, there can eventually be less conflict around the

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