Musicians on ships in Early Modern Europe

Imagine you’re on a wooden ship in the early modern period. You close your eyes and let your body sway with the rocking of the boat. The sounds of the world at sea surround you. Wood creaking, waves slapping the hull, ropes straining. Voices of sailors and the captain in the background, perhaps the call of sea birds. You relax further. Another peaceful day at sea. Suddenly, a sharp sound blasts near your ear. Wait, is that a TRUMPET? Next thing you know, the tranquil sounds of the ship are drowned out by various drums, pipes, maybe even a few viols fighting their way through. You sit up. So much for that calm maritime nap.

I arrived at the Folger as an Artist Fellow in July 2024. I was there to research piracy and queerness during the early modern period for a musical. The piece, Antonio!, reimagines all of Shakespeare’s characters named Antonio as one gay pirate whose adventures inspired the plays of his lover, Shakespeare. Imagine my surprise when my research turned up an unexpectedly wonderful connection between pirates and music: musicians on ships! As unexpected as it might be, musicians were a huge part of life at sea in the early modern period. But what, you may ask, were they doing there? And what were they playing?

Music for Entertainment

While sailing in the period was a far cry from cruise ships with their modern bands and singers, there was still a desire for music to entertain and pass the time. Gentleman navigators (also known as privateers) such as Sir Francis Drake often traveled with a number of musicians, sometimes even a full “consort” — sort of the early modern version of a band. Often consisting of stringed instruments, this consort would have had little military or naval value; it would have served to entertain gentlemen like Drake on the long Atlantic crossing; to accompany religious ceremonies; to accompany dinner services; or to observe other courtly rituals that were still maintained onboard ships.¹

It’s likely that in addition to the official musicians onboard, there would have been amateur musicians as well, as music was an important part of early modern life. Unfortunately, for either professional or amateur musicians, it’s hard to know exactly what instruments they were playing. For the professional musicians, they would be noted in the crew list simply as “musician,” and an amateur musician would leave behind no record. One of the closest insights we can gather is from the Mary Rose, Henry VIII’s flagship that sunk in 1545. Preserved by unusually favorable underwater conditions, its excavation in the 1970s has proven invaluable for researchers. Onboard the ship were ten instruments, including a fiddle, a tabor pipe and a shawm.²

Music as Communication

Also on board were naval musicians, trumpeters, drummers, and fife players who were paid for their military and navigational value. One of their main uses was for communication: without telecommunication, ships had to find a way to send information back and forth on the open ocean, and loud instruments were immensely helpful. Trumpets were especially helpful in many aspects of naval expeditions. Trumpeters could be scouts, or sent with scouting parties, tasked with communicating back whatever was discovered. They could also keep watch. In a woodcut from the period, we can see a young sailor and a trumpeter guarding the boats of a landing party. If something went awry, the trumpeter could quickly alert both the landing party and the ship moored further out in the ocean.

For anyone who has witnessed a military parade, it will come as no surprise that trumpeters also played an important role in the pomp and circumstance of naval campaigns. The number of trumpets accorded to each ship was based on the status of its commander, with five trumpeters (a “noise” of trumpets, a great phrase) accompanying an admiral or vice-admiral, down to only one on lesser ships. Trumpets were played to mark a number of occasions, from the arrival of a captain to a ship, of a ship to shore, or of a captain off of a ship and on to shore. They could even be used as a tool to scare off adversaries. As might be expected playing a loud and noticeable instrument, being a trumpeter could also make you a target. There are stories of trumpeters being specifically shot to stop them signaling – an effective tactic to halt communication. This made it a risky job, on top of the normal hazards of a life at sea such as malnutrition, illness, and scurvy. Horns and drums were also a vital part of funerals at sea.

Music as Diplomacy and Cross-Cultural Exchange

Music also served to impress and create bonds with peoples that were contacted during these voyages. During one stop on Sir Francis Drake’s famous voyage that circumnavigated the globe, he had musicians play for the Javanese royal family; in another instance, musicians entertained Japanese royalty for the British East India Company. At this time, many of these cultures and peoples were being contacted by Europeans for the first time, and music was seen to both impress other cultures with European prowess, and to communicate over lingual and cultural barriers. While it’s hard to know if the performances were enjoyed by those contacted, the European explorers often noted these exchanges as successful.

Music as Career

Given the danger that a life at sea (especially for those on military missions) presented, why would musicians want to sign up? For some, it may have been for the opportunity to see more of the world. While there were opportunities on military ships, there were also increasingly opportunities on merchant ships where combat was less likely. It had also become a period where music-makers were more likely to be seen as troublemakers. Up through the 1560s “minstrel” had been a term applied to those who offered music for some form of payment, and it was accepted as a way to make a living or at least make merry. In the 1570s, an Elizabethan act against street musicians or “minstrels” turned them from merry entertainers to a public menace, with a resulting decline in the trade (most renamed themselves “musicians” as a way to avoid the stigma and legal repercussions of “minstrel.” Additionally, playing on ships could be relatively lucrative, especially for naval musicians. While there are few explicit records, in one account, each musician was paid 10 pounds for a single voyage. This could have been a way to make a regular income, or even to move up in the world; some musicians worked at the royal court either before or after their time on board ships.

Musicians on Ships and Shakespeare

In addition to working at court, musicians may have worked in London theaters before or after working on ships: in both places, trumpets and drums were prominent. I like to think that Shakespeare may have known some of these men, and even gained some knowledge of sea faring from them for his many plays featuring ships and shipwrecks. They also make an appearance in my writing of Antonio!, where a seafaring drummer brings Antonio to see Romeo and Juliet, leading to his introduction to Shakespeare. If nothing else, musicians on ships sparked my creative imagination and I hope that have at least tickled yours!

For more information on this fascinating slice of early modern history, I highly recommend English Musicians in the Age of Exploration (1995) by Ian Woodfield and Maritime Musicians and Performers on Early Modern English Voyages (2022) by James Seth.