The Singing School: An American Tradition :: essays research papers

The Singing grade An American TraditionThe Singing School was an institution that was uniquely American. it wasestablished to serve a dual subprogram the desire to create unison and the need forsociability. Generations were taught to read and sing music by itinerant interpretmasters, who developed characteristic methods and materials of instruction, anddistinctive operation practices. Through this institution, many people weregiven the opportunity to participate in music, either as a singer, a teacher, oras a composer. The Singing School foreshadowed the development of church choirsand musical societies.Early settlers in this country brought with them their native Englishmusic, both sacred and secular. They make workout of various Psalters compiled inEurope. It was not until 1640, however, that the Puritan ministers in Americamade their own translation of the psalms. The Bay Psalm Book was the first earmarkprinted in British North America and was widely used. The most distin guishing gambol of this book was its rhymed and metered English poetry. This allowed afew tunes, having the same rhythms as the poetry, to be used as melodies formany psalms. In addition, the text use the vernacular, and consequentlypromoted memorization. The ninth edition of the Bay Psalm Book, published in1698, was the first edition published with tunes. This edition had printed theletters F-S-L-M, representing the solmization syllables fa, sol, la, and mi, down the stairs the notes. This indicates that there was a familiarity with and aninterest in music instruction as applied to psalmody.It was not until the early 18th century, however, that as a directresult of agitation by ministers for a reformation in congregational sing,arguments were advanced promoting timed relation and the eventual establishmentof singing conditions.The singing school grew out of the employment by the churches in NewEngland of regular singing. Records indicate that the first singing school wasprobab ly established in Boston, the most advanced town in New England, around1720.The singing school gradually spread throughout New England during thenext 25 years. Throughout the eighteenth century, the scope and span ofthe singing schools continued to grow. The coming of the 19th century sawsinging schools established from Maine to Pennsylvania.The first singing schools were church-oriented, due to the face that theoriginal purpose of the schools was to improve congregational singing. later onselecting a date (usually two to four weeks during the winter or betweenplanting and harvesting of crops), a teacher was secured (in most cases, thelocal school master or an itinerant singing teacher), and location wasestablished (either in the local school house or some other world building).