Unpublished nineteenth-century brass band music and the development of instrumentation

In their article From ‘Repeat and Twiddle’ to ‘Precision and Snap’: The Musical Revolution of the Mid-Nineteenth Century ¹ Vic and Sheila Gammon give an interesting account of the transition, during the first half of the century, from playing by ear to playing from written parts. They suggest that early bands were made up mainly of members who played by ear, with a minority who actually read music. Those playing by ear would indulge in various forms of elaboration, decoration and variation, adding elements of improvisation and individuality to their performances. The article points out that there were profound changes in the musical style of performances as the balance shifted from being predominantly aural to being based on musical literacy (see also comments about Bacup Old Band on pages 44–48). This chapter takes up the story from a point at which it is assumed all bandsmen could read music – though not necessarily to a high standard. The responsibility for teaching musical literacy would generally lie with the leader, who therefore not only wrote out band parts, but also taught his bandsmen how to read and play them.