United States Military Music Analysis

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Pages: 5

Music in the United States Military
Music has served an important function in the United States military for over one hundred years. In the beginning, the drum and fife were used to make routine beats and calls to alert soldiers. Anne Midgley stated “Military music served a variety of purposes, the most important to convey orders to the troops” (46). “The National Association for Music EducationAs of 2014, the U.S. Department of Defense is the largest employer of musicians in the United States, with more than 6,000 musicians serving in active-duty, reserve, and National Guard bands” (Gleason 37). Since the beginning of time music has been used for motivational and entertaining. Military musical members are required to meet all training requirements.
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Military bands often contribute to drills. For example, as stated by Jayson Kerr Dobney, during the Revolutionary War drummers and fifers were used to signal soldiers to fire (page). Music is often used to communicate for when to eat, sleep, and wakeup. The bugle is the most popular method of communication. It was first introduced around the War of 1812. On an Army base, the bugle call is used for approximately 25 different actions. These can be scheduled or unscheduled activities. Several examples include Reveille used to wake soldiers at sunrise, Troop alerts roll call and inspection at 8 am, Retreat signals the end of the day right before To The Colors, and Tattoo signals lights out usually 10 pm. Military bands preform everywhere often overseas. They participate in parades, military ceremonies at sea, radio, or television in America and in other …show more content…
At this point musicians from the communities visited injured soldiers. Nurses and doctors noticed a positive reaction from the soldiers. Often music therapy has been used in pre-deployment. The benefits of music are amazing because of its effect on the brain and body. After combat, music therapy has proven helpful for soldiers and their families. This therapy helps with coping skills, relief from pain and reduces stress from traumatic experiences. Music offers help with learning new things, remembering old information, improving focus, increasing lung capacity, and bringing people together. Therefore, a music therapist is helpful with supporting soldiers with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder(PTSD), Depression, Substance Abuse, or those with Traumatic Brain Injuries(TBI). A musical therapist might use music to help a soldier relearning to walk or to use his mechanical limbs. Ronna Kaplan (in “Music Therapy and the Military) blog states in her post,” Another trend in today’s military is the high incidence of “polytrauma,” with individuals being subjected to multiple traumatic injuries. This term is common among U.S. military doctors describing seriously-injured soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan.” Soldiers with PTSD or TBI experience emotional and social challenges which can often be helped by a music therapist. To resolve issues from these injuries, musical therapists create