Get 20M+ Full-Text Papers For Less Than $1.50/day. Start a 14-Day Trial for You or Your Team.

Learn More →

Boys’ bands in children’s homes: a fragment of history

Boys’ bands in children’s homes: a fragment of history Purpose – The purposes of this paper are threefold. First, to draw attention to an overlooked feature of children’s institutions in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries; namely, the widespread existence of boys’ brass bands. The second purpose is to explain why these were created and the third is to consider what implications membership of a band had for a boy’s subsequent life. Design/methodology/approach – The paper relies upon archival and secondary sources. Findings – The study traces the influences that led to the formation of so many boys’ bands. These included the background of brass bands in popular culture; the belief in the power of music as an agent of social reform; the money-spinning value of a band that gave public performances, and the opportunity for a band-boy to join a military band, thereby securing a foothold in the juvenile labour market. Over and above these findings is the fact that so many boys from deprived backgrounds could be taught to play a musical instrument to a competent standard. Originality/value – As far as the author knows this is the only study of children’s homes’ bands. Its value lies in emphasising the fact that some of the most disadvantaged children are likely to have latent aptitudes and talents that can be discovered and developed. That is the message for today. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Journal of Children s Services Emerald Publishing

Boys’ bands in children’s homes: a fragment of history

Journal of Children s Services , Volume 11 (1): 12 – Mar 21, 2016

Loading next page...
 
/lp/emerald-publishing/boys-bands-in-children-s-homes-a-fragment-of-history-rtEmw6U5pw

References (9)

Publisher
Emerald Publishing
Copyright
Copyright © Emerald Group Publishing Limited
ISSN
1746-6660
DOI
10.1108/JCS-01-2016-0001
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

Purpose – The purposes of this paper are threefold. First, to draw attention to an overlooked feature of children’s institutions in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries; namely, the widespread existence of boys’ brass bands. The second purpose is to explain why these were created and the third is to consider what implications membership of a band had for a boy’s subsequent life. Design/methodology/approach – The paper relies upon archival and secondary sources. Findings – The study traces the influences that led to the formation of so many boys’ bands. These included the background of brass bands in popular culture; the belief in the power of music as an agent of social reform; the money-spinning value of a band that gave public performances, and the opportunity for a band-boy to join a military band, thereby securing a foothold in the juvenile labour market. Over and above these findings is the fact that so many boys from deprived backgrounds could be taught to play a musical instrument to a competent standard. Originality/value – As far as the author knows this is the only study of children’s homes’ bands. Its value lies in emphasising the fact that some of the most disadvantaged children are likely to have latent aptitudes and talents that can be discovered and developed. That is the message for today.

Journal

Journal of Children s ServicesEmerald Publishing

Published: Mar 21, 2016

There are no references for this article.