Education Programs

July 2025 – Beat the Drum

July 1, 2025July 5, 2024By
July 2025 – Beat the Drum

Beat the Drum

Read Psalm 150:1-5.

Suggested Activities

Did You Know?

  • The first Salvation Army band was formed in 1882 by accident. Charles Frye and his sons offered their services as bodyguards for Salvation Army street preachers. They began playing music on their brass instruments to give them something to do while they protected the officers, and soon after quitting their family business, to lead the Army’s music department.
  • The Salvation Army has approximately 2,500 brass bands worldwide.
  • Since the 1920s, a Salvation Army brass band from Southern California has marched in the Tournament of Roses Parade, the longest participant of any music group.
  • The Salvation Army was on the Top 50 chart in the UK. Started as a contemporary group at the International Training College, the Joystrings combined old-fashioned gospel with new rock sounds. In April of 1964 the group shared the UK Top 50 chart with the English rock band the Beatles with their song, “It’s an Open Secret.”
  • Timbrels, also called tambourines, became part of The Salvation Army when a converted Romani (Gypsy) brought her musical talent to The Salvation Army march.
  • The drum has been called the “church bell of the Army.” Not only is it used for music, in the open-air it is often turned on its side to provide a place for penitent people to kneel and pray.
  • “Strawberry Fields Forever” is the Beatles 1966 song. It is John Lennon’s nostalgic reference to a Salvation Army orphanage called Strawberry Field in Woolton, England. Lennon is said to have played with childhood friends in the trees behind the orphanage when he was a boy. The facility closed in 2005 but reopened in late 2019.
  • With the boom of brass music, The Army’s Trade Department opened a Musical Instrument Factory in 1889 at the Trade Headquarters. It mainly produced instruments for brass bands, but they also manufactured other types of instruments to Salvation Army requirement, including those for timbrel groups.
  • General William and Catherine Booth compiled several hymnbooks: The Christian Mission Hymnbook, Hymns for Special Services, The Penny Revival Hymn Book, and The Children’s Mission Hymn Book. In 1876 The Christian Mission Hymn Book contained 531 standard hymns, spirituals, and songs set to popular and national tunes, even old bar tunes.
  • The chorus, “All that I Am,” was written by a William Himes s Salvationist in the Central Territory.
  • The primary function of a corps band is to support the Sunday worship services of the corps, members are usually soldiers of the corps, and they use The Salvation Army Tune Book for their music.
  • The first band to hold the designation of Staff Band was the US National Headquarters Staff Band (Now the New York Staff Band) which was formed in 1887.
  • There are eleven Staff Bands that have been given that designation by the General. The International Staff Band is considered to be the premier band of the Army: Amsterdam (Netherlands) (1962), Canadian (Canada and Bermuda) (1907-1914, reformed 1969), Chicago (USA Central) (1904), German (Germany) (1989), Hong Kong (Hong Kong and Macau) (2008), International (United Kingdom) (1891), Japan (Japan) (1902), Melbourne (Australia) (1890), New York (USA East)(1887), USA West (USA Western) (Formed in the 1920’s and Designated a Staff Band in 2012), USA Southern Staff Band (USA South) (2022).

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Music as Worship

Since the beginning the Salvation Army has a long, rich history of music. As an integral part of our identity, we have used brass bands, choirs, worship teams, timbrels, and free music lessons as a vehicle to win the world for Jesus. In fact, our founder General William Booth declared in his first “Order for Bands” in The War Cry (1880), “Whereas . . . we have proved the great utility of musical instruments in attracting crowds to our open-air and indoor meetings, we do here express our desire that as many of our officers and soldiers generally, male or female, as have the ability to learn to play on some suitable instrument.”

Music is a universal language that portrays every emotion that all humans can relate to. Music dates to Neanderthals with the oldest instrument found, the Neanderthal flute, which was 60,000 years old. Music also plays an integral part in Bible history with music being referenced over 800 times in scriptures from worship and praise, to mourning and dancing, grief to celebrations. Music is a way to express deepest fears, greatest joys, and sincerest adoration to God.

Psalm 150:1-5 states, “Praise the Lord. Praise God in His sanctuary; praise Him in His mighty heavens. Praise Him for His acts of power; praise Him for His surpassing greatness. Praise Him with the sounding of the trumpet, praise Him with the harp and lyre, praise Him with timbrel and dancing, praise Him with the strings and pipe, praise Him with the clash of cymbals, praise Him with resounding cymbals.” The Psalmist reminds us of not only the reasons why we praise God but also physical ways we can praise Him. What is amazing about this scripture is that it doesn’t add on, “if you have the talent to do so” or “if you have taken lesson and are good enough to play.” No, it simply states, you have a reason to praise Him, so do it. Your praise is music to God’s ears regardless of what instrument you use how it may sound to you or others.

Take the next few moments to write down reasons why you should worship God today. Then as we worship God, use the instruments to worship Him this morning. (Suggested Songs found on YouTube are: “Come, Now is the Time to Worship,” “Here I am to Worship,” or “How Great is Our God”).