The Singing School: An American Tradition
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The Singing School was an institution that was uniquely American. it was
established to serve a dual purpose: the desire to create music and the need for
sociability. Generations were taught to read and sing music by itinerant singing
masters, who developed characteristic methods and materials of ....
Middle of paper
.... its rhymed and metered English poetry. This allowed a
few tunes, having the same rhythms as the poetry, to be used as melodies for
many psalms. In addition, the text employed the vernacular, and consequently
promoted memorization. The ninth edition of the Bay Psalm Book, published in
1698, was the first edition published with tunes. This edition had printed the
letters F-S-L-M, representing the solmization syllables fa, sol, la, and mi,
under the notes. This indicates that there was a famili ....
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Page count: 5 (approximately 250 words per page)
