Music and the Military

Music is a frill. Everyone knows that. But what is significant is not that it is a frill but that no one anywhere in the world lives without some form of it. Surely, then, it must have power and meaning, a great deal of which must affect the military.

Music, however, is obviously not going to help anyone fly the F-4C or any other aircraft. Music is not going to send men to the moon. Music is not going to release POW’s. Music is not going to win the war in Vietnam.

When people insist on this kind of application, they are guilty of misplaced emphasis. The importance of music to the military is not whether it can win a war, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t important to the military at all.

Hitler knew the power of music and used it to great advantage at Nazi rallies. Wagner was his favorite composer, and pieces like the “Ride of the Valkyries,” when played for a considerable time before a rally, so stirred the people they were ready to fight for any cause Hitler advocated.

Thus there is no question that music affects people. The question instead is, Since it does, can the military afford to ignore it? Everyone knows, of course, that the military doesn’t completely ignore music. The most obvious and direct use of music is for drills and ceremonies.

At one time music was in fact a way to get into the Army under age. A hundred years ago and earlier, if you were too young to carry a weapon and had a burning desire to be in uniform, you could still join the Army by playing a fife, bugle, or drum to keep cadence for marching troops or relay commands by playing bugle or drum calls. This was a useful and necessary activity at that time.

Today’s ceremonies are formal and impressive, and many people, both military and civilian, regard them as essential, perhaps even sacred. I recall playing in a military band and once hearing a general officer say, “There’s nothing so stirring as seeing men march to band music.” Not everyone would agree with him, but a significant number of people do agree.

Music reflects the lives and thoughts of people so much that if one studies their music he can better understand the people themselves. The spirit, feelings, and thought patterns are all revealed in music. For example, Oriental people think in languages which when written are constructed basically from pictures, and it is no accident that their music is also pictorial; it is always about something one can see, feel, or think about. By contrast our written language is purely abstract, and much of our music is also purely abstract—symphonies, sonatas, concertos, and so on.

editted and extracted portions from and article by Captain James Conely
published at Air & Space Power Chronicles
http://www.airpower.maxwell.af.mil/airchronicles/aureview/1972/mar-apr/conley.html