One of my passions is to try to play the music of the Minstrel / American Civil War (1861-5) era in the authentic style on restored or replica period instruments.

Towards this end I collect vocal and instrumental method books printed around the Victorian era as well as period music, and try to perform the old songs as nearly as possible to the way it would have been presented in the middle 1800s.

The gut-strung "Parlor Guitar" seems to have been played according to the Justin HOLLAND Method for the most part, which as near as I can determine is essentially a Classical melodic style.

You do NOT want to be using picks on gut strings!

The 5-string banjo, more popular than the guitar in America at the time, was tuned and played a whole lot differently than our modern "Bluegrass" banjo is today, using a "Stroke" or "Guitar" fingerpicking style on the gut strings tuned 2 1/2 steps below modern tuning.   
There was a BIG difference in how banjos sounded back then vs. how they sound now!

Some of the Members of my CW Reenacting unit are expressing interest in forming a little pick-up "Glee Club", which I've been trying to drum up interest in for about 13 years now.

One of my "Pards" in the Fife and Drum Corps is interested in learning the fiddle, and I was wondering if there is any significant difference in the way fiddles were played in the middle 1800s vs. the current popular styles?

Surely someone in here knows!

Thanks - "Uncle Jaque" - 3rd Maine Infantry Field Music