What did the author of Walden and his family do for entertainment at home in the mid 1800's? Some of the popular music of that time can be found in The Thoreau Family Flute Book - fun music played in informal concerts probably by Henry Thoreau, his brother John and their father who all played the flute. This book has ten easy to intermediate level pieces transcribed from the original flute books displayed at the Concord Museum in Massachusetts.