What Did Music Sound Like in Fort Jones in 1898?

One of my favorite parts of researching Kita's Courage, my historical novel set in Fort Jones, California, in 1898, is discovering what music people listened to—and what they might have heard drifting through the windows of a home, church, dance hall, or saloon.

I've been looking into the music of the 1890s: popular hymns, love songs, sentimental ballads, dance music, and lively ragtime tunes. I'm not sure all my discoveries will end up within the pages of one of my books, but I'm curious about the difference between ragtime and honky-tonk piano music, and why an old honky-tonk piano has that wonderfully bright, tinny sound.

It's remarkable that I can listen to actual recordings from the era, thanks to YouTube.

I've spent time listening to wax-cylinder recordings of songs such as Coon Song Melody, The Laughing Song, Whistling Coon, Daisy Bell, Just a Plain American Girl, They Call Me Darling Jane, and O Promise Me (which you might remember hearing in Kevin Sullivan's beloved Anne of Green Gables film). I've also been listening to hymns that my characters might have sung in church, including Face to Face with Christ My Savior, How Firm a Foundation, and Blessed Assurance.

It's one thing to read the words of an old song. It's another to hear the actual recording of a musician from more than 125 years ago and know: This is what my characters might have heard.

And yes, by 1898, someone in Fort Jones could potentially have owned a phonograph—or perhaps gathered at a neighbor's home or another public place to listen to one, rather like a watch party or Super Bowl get-together today. Phonographs were still expensive, but these fascinating new machines were becoming increasingly available to a wider audience, and people were eager to share the wonder of recorded music with friends.

When I listen to these old-timey tunes, I take a step back in time and sort of get into character as I write. And that's exactly what I hope my readers will experience as they get absorbed in Kita's Courage. Fort Jones in 1898 will come to life—not just through the sights and stories of the time, but through the music, too. As for the difference between honky-tonk and ragtime... I've learned that ragtime is a musical style characterized by a distinctive syncopated rhythm that became enormously popular in the 1890s and early 1900s. Honky-tonk, on the other hand, refers more to the sound of a piano and the setting in which it was played than to a specific musical style.

Honky-tonk pianos were often out of tune, giving them that bright, jangly, slightly tinny sound. Did you know that the "tappy" quality was sometimes created by pushing metal tacks into the piano hammers to get that old, worn-out sound quality? A pianist might play ragtime on a honky-tonk piano, but the two terms don't mean the same thing. Although I don't spend much time writing about the saloon crowds in this book, I can imagine the lively sound of one playing in a rowdy Fort Jones beer hall in 1898! What songs do you think people in Fort Jones would have been listening to in 1898? I'd love to know. Any ideas are welcome as I write my manuscript-in-progress! Research Sources 1. YouTube videos from Michael R. Barrick's channel: https://www.youtube.com/@MichaelRBarrick 2. The Syncopated Times: https://syncopatedtimes.com/honky-tonk-boogie-woogie-and-stride-whats-the-difference/

3. Library of Congress: History of the Cylinder Phonograph: https://www.loc.gov/collections/edison-company-motion-pictures-and-sound-recordings/articles-and-essays/history-of-edison-sound-recordings/history-of-the-cylinder-phonograph/

4. Some A.I. assisted research