In 18th-century England domestic music-making became a popular leisure activity, with some masters and mistresses cultivating households which employed musical servants for this purpose. This paper will examine references to instrumental playing and performance amongst the servant classes at this time, highlighting masters and mistresses who either employed musical servants or paid for their servants to be taught musical instruments.

This paper will discuss the desirable nature of possessing instrumental skills, as indicated by the presence of contemporary advertisements placed by servants in search of employment. The listing of instrumental skills alongside domestic capabilities proves that servants understood that they could use their musical skills to their advantage to make themselves more employable and appealing to potential masters and mistresses. This also confirms the growing importance of domestic music making as a popular leisure activity during the 18th century. Finally, this paper will highlight instrumental performances given by servants and occasions on which masters and servants performed together, demonstrating interactions between different classes and levels of society.

Drawing on a variety of contemporary source material, this paper will demonstrate how instrumental playing and performance enabled servants to capitalise on a skill which was highly desirable and participate in a popular leisure pastime of the 18th century.