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Coding with Primary Sources: Exploring Bugle Calls through Programming

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This post is by Kellie Taylor, Ed.D., the 2018-2019 Library of Congress Albert Einstein Distinguished Educator Fellow.

Music can create a personal connection between students and the past. Carolyn Bennett’s recent blog post explored the sounds and functions of bugle calls as a form of communication for troops from a musical perspective. This post describes ways in which coding allows students to explore different aspects of these calls.

First, revisit students’ thoughts about this 1865 photograph - or introduce the image and allow time for observation and reflection – focusing on the detail of the boys holding bugles. Next, show them the image of Private Staley