Nine Reasons to Sing at Reenactments

[This post has been languishing in my drafts for several years.  I think it was originally inspired by Liz's Top Ten Reasons You Need to Make a Petticoat.]

Musical Instinct (1860-69) by Eastman Johnson.

9. Easy to find.  Particularly if you're doing the mid 19th to early 20th century, mass-printed sheet music and song books mean lots of originals survive--originals that are old enough to be public domain, and widely available on-line thanks to Google Books, Internet Archive, the LOC, and various other archives and repositories.

8. No equipment required.  You can add it if you want: a handwritten page of lyrics, or a pitchpipe and some printed music, all the way up to beautifully-bound reproduction music books and period correct instruments.  There are lots of options.

7. Can be added to your other activities.  Sing while sewing, while cooking, or while washing up.  Start your ladies' meeting with a hymn; cheer the soldiers' parade with a patriotic tune; lullaby the children to their naps.

6. Creates subtle activity: music can add to an event's ambiance, even for people who aren't currently in your area.

5. Attracts attention. Sound carries.  A little singing (on its own or for amusement while working) lets people know where you are, without interrupting their current pursuits.  It doesn't demand an audience, but invites one in.

4. It's easy to start and end.  If you do get some visitors investigating your siren song, you can easily wind it down to engage them in conversation or answer their questions. No dropped stitches, fumbling for book marks, or materials getting ruined because you set them aside.

3. It's free.

2. It's fun.

1. It's authentic.  Puritans aside, whatever period you're doing, people were singing. And so can you!