George Bruce, real name George Barrett, was taught to play the drum by drum major Riggs in the Baltimore area.[2] Bruce served in the Maryland Dragoons under tumultuous circumstances between 1836 and 1843.[3] Bruce's book, The Guide was published in 1862, and remains well known as a source for music for the fife and drum. It was the second book in history to use the word "rudiment" in conjunction with short, named exercises for the snare drum, the first being Charles Stewart Ashworth's A New Useful and Complete System of Drum Beating.[4] The book also was one of the first to advocate playing rudiments Open, closed, open, a practice method popular today, and the first to record the Flamacue.[5] According to the cover of his book Bruce (potentially dubiously) served in the 7th Regiment N.Y.S.M. (National Guard) Band [6] and he is also listed as the Principal Drum Instructor at Bedloe's and the U.S. Army at the Eastern School of Practice on Governor's Island in New York Harbor.[7] See Controversy section below. Bruce was a player of the drums, banjo, violin and mandolin.[8] Bruce served as the drum major for the 22nd New York Infantry Regiment[9] in 1863 and as the drum major for the 5th Maryland Infantry Regiment.[10] He died in 1884 in Baltimore City, MD at the age of 68.[11]
His work influenced Sanford A. Moeller of the Moeller Method of drumming, in the publisher's note of Moeller's own book he speaks highly Bruce's method of drum instruction, and indeed, Moeller's book has some similarity to Bruce and Emmett's The Drummers' and Fifers' Guide, in that both have lengthy treatments of the rudiments,[12] and many of the pieces in Bruce's book also appear in Moeller's.[13] Moeller is quoted as having said that Bruce and Emmett, "saved American drumming."[5]
Controversyedit
George Bruce's resume and qualifications have been questioned by some modern groups,[14] and he appears to have regularly interchanged his middle name with his surname, though many publications on rudimental drumming adhere to Bruce's own fictitious account of his qualifications. Bruce's birth name was George B. Barrett (b. 1815 or 1816 in Baltimore) and he changed his name [15] after deserting his post in Maryland's 2nd Regiment of Dragoons in 1836.[16] He was later "apprehended" in 1842.[17] A soldier named George Barrett served in the 7th Regiment N.Y.S.M. as Bruce had claimed to do,[18] but this was unlikely to be the same man as the age and rank of the potential soldier are incorrect. Bruce served under his new name as a drum major in the 22nd Regiment N.Y.S.M. in 1863,[9] though his post with the 22nd is not listed in his book. The drum and fife instructors on Governor's Island during the Civil War were known to be Sergeant Henke and Sergeant Michael Moore,[19] of the eponymous Henke-Moore Manuscript,[20] and not George Bruce as he claimed.[21] Moore had been at Governor's Island since 1841.[22] Fort Wood on Bedloe's Island, now known as Liberty Island, was an ordinance depot during the Civil War.[23] George's position with the 5th Regiment was under the name Barrett, even though the Regiment acknowledged that he was the author of the book written under the name Bruce. After his military career, all references to him, including his obituary, use the name Barrett.[24] The question as to Bruce's backstory had been raised in the 1920s but was largely ignored by contemporary drummers.
^ abWingate, George W. History of the Twenty-second Regiment of the National Guard of the State of New York - from its organization to 1895. New York: Dayton, 1896.
^"The National Guard."The United States Army and Navy Journal and Gazette of the Regular and Volunteer Forces, Volume 8. Army and Navy Journal Incorporated, 1871.
^Arps, Wlater E. Maryland Mortalities, 1876-1915, from the (Baltimore) Sun Almanac. Heritage Books, 2009.
^. Archived from the original on 2009-09-28. Retrieved 2009-07-28. Bruce and Emmett's The Drummers' and Fifers' Guide
^Moeller, Sanford A. The Art of Snare Drumming. Chicago: Ludwig, 1925.
^"Liberty Island and the Statue of Liberty – Page 2 – Legends of America".
^Maryland Mortalities, 1876-1915, from the (Baltimore) Sun Almanac: By Walter E. Arps
National Conference on Music of the Civil War Era (2004). Mark A. Snell; Bruce C. Kelley (eds.). Bugle Resounding: Music and Musicians of the Civil War Era. University of Missouri Press. ISBN0-8262-1538-6.
Nexus Percussion: Music for Fife and Field Drums
Civil War Bands and Their Music
External linksedit
Index of songs in The Drummer's and Fifer's Guide
April 18, 2024
george, barrett, bruce, this, article, uses, bare, urls, which, uninformative, vulnerable, link, please, consider, converting, them, full, citations, ensure, article, remains, verifiable, maintains, consistent, citation, style, several, templates, tools, avail. This article uses bare URLs which are uninformative and vulnerable to link rot Please consider converting them to full citations to ensure the article remains verifiable and maintains a consistent citation style Several templates and tools are available to assist in formatting such as reFill documentation and Citation bot documentation August 2022 Learn how and when to remove this template message George B Bruce was an American Army drum major during the Civil War Bruce is best known for co writing The Drummer s and Fifer s Guide with Daniel Decatur Emmett 1 George Barrett BruceBornGeorge Bruce Barrett1815 or 1816Baltimore City MarylandDiedJune 23 1884Baltimore MarylandOccupationAuthor Drum Major Union Army Soldier Silversmith PrinterNationalityAmericanPeriodAmerican Civil WarGenreDrum and Percussion InstructionNotable worksThe Drummers and Fifers GuideContents 1 Career 2 Controversy 3 References 4 External linksCareer editGeorge Bruce real name George Barrett was taught to play the drum by drum major Riggs in the Baltimore area 2 Bruce served in the Maryland Dragoons under tumultuous circumstances between 1836 and 1843 3 Bruce s book The Guide was published in 1862 and remains well known as a source for music for the fife and drum It was the second book in history to use the word rudiment in conjunction with short named exercises for the snare drum the first being Charles Stewart Ashworth s A New Useful and Complete System of Drum Beating 4 The book also was one of the first to advocate playing rudiments Open closed open a practice method popular today and the first to record the Flamacue 5 According to the cover of his book Bruce potentially dubiously served in the 7th Regiment N Y S M National Guard Band 6 and he is also listed as the Principal Drum Instructor at Bedloe s and the U S Army at the Eastern School of Practice on Governor s Island in New York Harbor 7 See Controversy section below Bruce was a player of the drums banjo violin and mandolin 8 Bruce served as the drum major for the 22nd New York Infantry Regiment 9 in 1863 and as the drum major for the 5th Maryland Infantry Regiment 10 He died in 1884 in Baltimore City MD at the age of 68 11 His work influenced Sanford A Moeller of the Moeller Method of drumming in the publisher s note of Moeller s own book he speaks highly Bruce s method of drum instruction and indeed Moeller s book has some similarity to Bruce and Emmett s The Drummers and Fifers Guide in that both have lengthy treatments of the rudiments 12 and many of the pieces in Bruce s book also appear in Moeller s 13 Moeller is quoted as having said that Bruce and Emmett saved American drumming 5 Controversy editGeorge Bruce s resume and qualifications have been questioned by some modern groups 14 and he appears to have regularly interchanged his middle name with his surname though many publications on rudimental drumming adhere to Bruce s own fictitious account of his qualifications Bruce s birth name was George B Barrett b 1815 or 1816 in Baltimore and he changed his name 15 after deserting his post in Maryland s 2nd Regiment of Dragoons in 1836 16 He was later apprehended in 1842 17 A soldier named George Barrett served in the 7th Regiment N Y S M as Bruce had claimed to do 18 but this was unlikely to be the same man as the age and rank of the potential soldier are incorrect Bruce served under his new name as a drum major in the 22nd Regiment N Y S M in 1863 9 though his post with the 22nd is not listed in his book The drum and fife instructors on Governor s Island during the Civil War were known to be Sergeant Henke and Sergeant Michael Moore 19 of the eponymous Henke Moore Manuscript 20 and not George Bruce as he claimed 21 Moore had been at Governor s Island since 1841 22 Fort Wood on Bedloe s Island now known as Liberty Island was an ordinance depot during the Civil War 23 George s position with the 5th Regiment was under the name Barrett even though the Regiment acknowledged that he was the author of the book written under the name Bruce After his military career all references to him including his obituary use the name Barrett 24 The question as to Bruce s backstory had been raised in the 1920s but was largely ignored by contemporary drummers References edit Snell and Kelley pg 30 https companyoffifeanddrum org images Members AT Past Issues 2000 2009 Issue105 pdf bare URL PDF Maryland 2nd Dragoons Enlistment Records Bruce and Emmett s Drummers and Fifers Guide a b Beck John H Encyclopedia of Percussion Routledge 2013 Bruce G and Dan Emmett The Drummers and Fifers Guide New York W A Pond 1865 Bruce amp Emmett the Drummer s and Fifers Guide Music for Fife and Field Drums a b Wingate George W History of the Twenty second Regiment of the National Guard of the State of New York from its organization to 1895 New York Dayton 1896 The National Guard The United States Army and Navy Journal and Gazette of the Regular and Volunteer Forces Volume 8 Army and Navy Journal Incorporated 1871 Arps Wlater E Maryland Mortalities 1876 1915 from the Baltimore Sun Almanac Heritage Books 2009 Civil War Music Bruce amp Emmett the Drummers amp Fifers Guide Archived from the original on 2009 09 28 Retrieved 2009 07 28 Bruce and Emmett s The Drummers and Fifers Guide Moeller Sanford A The Art of Snare Drumming Chicago Ludwig 1925 Fife amp Drum Online https historyoftheancients files wordpress com 2012 09 p1010037 jpg bare URL image file Bruce and Emmett the Drummers and Fifers Guide 1862 1865 1880 and 1885 22 September 2012 Jones Patrick Bruce PDF 2023 7th Regiment New York National Guard New York State Military Museum and Veterans Research Center Meyers Augustus Ten Years in the Ranks U S Army The Stirling Press 1914 https nationalcivilwarfieldmusicschool com music resources html The U S Army Field Music School Governors Island National Monument U S National Park Service http www npshistory com publications gois hrs pdf bare URL PDF Liberty Island and the Statue of Liberty Page 2 Legends of America Maryland Mortalities 1876 1915 from the Baltimore Sun Almanac By Walter E Arps National Conference on Music of the Civil War Era 2004 Mark A Snell Bruce C Kelley eds Bugle Resounding Music and Musicians of the Civil War Era University of Missouri Press ISBN 0 8262 1538 6 Nexus Percussion Music for Fife and Field Drums Civil War Bands and Their MusicExternal links editIndex of songs in The Drummer s and Fifer s Guide Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title George Barrett Bruce amp oldid 1216556442, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
