Title: Music Education’s Professional Beginnings in America: Early Eighteenth-Century Singing-School Teacher Qualifications and Program Goals

Author(s): J. Terry Gates

Source: Gates, J. T. (1990, Spring). Music education’s professional beginnings in America: Early eighteenth-century New England singing-school teacher qualifications and program goals. The Quarterly, 1(1-2), pp. 43-48. (Reprinted with permission in Visions of Research in Music Education, 16(1), Summer, 2010). Retrieved from http://www-usr.rider.edu/~vrme/

It is with pleasure that we inaugurate the reprint of the entire seven volumes of The Quarterly Journal of Music Teaching and Learning. The journal began in 1990 as The Quarterly. In 1992, with 3, the name changed to The Quarterly Journal of Music Teaching and Learning and continued until 1997. The journal contained articles on issues that were timely when they appeared and are now important for their historical relevance. For many authors, it was their first publication. Visions of Research in Music Education will publish facsimiles of each issue as it originally appeared. Each article will be a separate pdf file. Jason D. Vodicka has accepted my invitation to serve as guest editor for the reprint project and will compose a new editorial to introduce each volume. Chad Keilman is the production manager. I express deepest thanks to Richard Colwell for granting VRME permission to re-publish The Quarterly in online format. He has graciously prepared an introduction to the reprint series. Music Education's Professional Beginnings in America: Early Eighteenth-Century New England Singing-School Teacher Qualifications and Program Goals By J. Terry Gates State University of New York at Buffalo

he decade of the 1720's in New any historical analysis of music instruc- England marks music education's tion. In the absence of participant- T professional beginnings in America. observers' reports that we can use to In that decade, almost a half-century be- compare printed curricula with typical fore William Billings became active as a practice, we must assume that program singing-school teacher, 's controver- goals from the 1720s Singing-reform sial "regular singing" movement reformed movement, as today, would reflect class- American psalmody through singing schools room instruction more faithfully than do (Temperley, 1981). The controversy will the specific activities printed and implied not be discussed; it has been well treated in tune- instructions. by others who have revealed the reformers' aims for singing schools and explored the specific instructional objectives printed in "We cannot assume that printed tune-book introductions. Britton (1989) curricula reflect accurately the recounted the teaching principles found content of classes, especially in in the writings of late eighteenth-century the arts. This caveat clouds any singing teachers. The qualifications of early eighteenth-century Boston singing- historical analysis of music school teachers and these teachers' pro- instruction. ~ gram goals, however, deserve further anal- ysis, if only to establish more firmly the The time constraints on these early thread that bound Billings and his fol- teachers (10 to 14 evening sessions over a lowers to old-country musico-religious two- to three-week period) do not sup- values and the mechanisms through port the assumption that tune-book con- which singing-school teachers conveyed tents, as presented in print, were learned these to the young. in singing schools. The singing school An account of program goals-the pur- teacher's function was to reverse thor- poses behind the teacher's classroom oughly entrenched and well-loved singing plans-is needed to complete the picture habits that the reformers declared were of early American music education. Pro- unacceptable. Given that daunting task, gram goals are the mid-level purposes these teachers would have had little that, in this case, connect the objectives choice but to narrow their focus to implied by specific early tune-book con- music- instruction and use any tents with the broad social aims for early motivation techniques that would result singing schools. in students' progress toward this end. We cannot assume that printed curric- In this article, the singing-school reacher's ula reflect accurately the content of classes, qualifications and program goals in sing- especially in the arts. This caveat clouds ing schools as articulated by early

The Quarterly Volume I, Numbers 1 & 2 43 eighteenth-century writers will be dis- sufficiently musically literate to be con- cussed. The assumption is that these vincing teachers of music reading. Walter goals, as stated, were distillations of early (1721), the writer of the first music- eighteenth-century singing-school teachers' instruction book written in America experience and formed the basis of their (Gates, 1988), defined the literate singer classroom activities from the 1720s until by analogy: Billings emerged as an exemplary singing- school teacher in the 1770s.1 We don't call him a reader, who can re- cite memoriter a few pieces of the Bible, Singing-School Teacher and other authors, but ... cannot tell Qualifications ten words in a page. So is not he worthy of the name of a singer, who has gotten was singing-reform's eight or ten tunes in his head, and can most powerful social and religious advo- sing them like a parrot by rote, and cate in the 1720s. He stated that the most knows nothing more about them, than important reason for singing Psalms rather he has heard from the voices of others; than chanting them was that singers and show him a tune that is new and could acquire a richer, deeper understand- unknown to him, can't strike two notes of it (p. 2). ing of Psalm texts (1718, 1721). In this he followed Calvinist as well as Augustinian The duties of singing leaders in churches doctrine. Symmes (1720, 1723) and other were well known. From the first Bay writers also argued for reform, and Tufts Psalm Book (Cotton, 1640), it was noted (1723 and later editions) and Walter (1721 that one musical task of singing leaders and later editions; 1722) wrote and ar- (usually the church's clerks) was to set ranged tune to achieve Mather's the tune's pitch according to the follow- vision of a reformed psalmody. ing directions: Surprisingly, these men did not include as an important part of their agenda the First observe how many Notes compass systematic development of qualified the Tune is. Next the place of your first singing-school teachers. There were sing- Note; and how many Notes above and ing schools already in existence around below that: so as you may begin the Boston by the early 1720s (Thacher, Dan- Tune of your first Note as the rest may forth, & Danforth, 1723). Their effective- be sung in the compass of your and the people's voices, without Squeaking ness was supported by reform leaders, above, or Grumbling below (p. 419, and reformers apparently saw no reason 1698 , italics his). to suggest that these teachers should pos- sess qualifications different from those Besides being skillful at "pitching" and they already had. "lining out" tunes, leadership abilities Mather's call for a deeper understand- were also prized. Tufts said of church ing of biblical texts through competent singing leaders that ". . . great Regard singing was reflected in Chauncey's (1728) ought to be had in the Choice or Ap- description of the kind of skilled singer pointment of Persons to this Service, that likely to be chosen as a singing-school they be such as are skillful, that they may teacher. Chauncey advocated testing the with a becoming Courage lead their Breth- singer's knowledge of biblical admoni- ren in singing the Songs of the LORD" tions that singing should be skillful, his (1723, p. 3). This brief advice about the insight about the texts of the songs, and courage of singing leaders (along with his acquaintance with " . . . the true rule their knowledge of psalmody and their and manner of performance" (1728, music-reading skill) presumably applied p. 26). In addition to these cognitive at- also to singing-school teachers. Surpris- tainments, Chauncey noted later (p. 36) ingly, little was written about them that performance technique-singing directly. skill-was needed as well. Singing-school teachers were not uni- But the reformers expected all singers versally held to be above reproach, de- to read music. Singing-school teachers, spite their religious affiliations. Rowe, then, were chosen from those who were writing to the from England

44 The Quarterly (1722), cautioned that singing-school 1721, however, was not the absence of teachers were crassly commercial, and American instructions for singing; rather, their services weren't really necessary if it was the lack of Psalm tune repertoire parishioners would buy his numerical known by Americans and the low-culture music notation system instead. Some con- taste reflected in their continual singing gregation members objected to singing of those few tunes they did now. Only a schools on the grounds that singing few of the Bay Psalm Book's 13 tunes teachers were "lewd and loose persons" were used in 1720 (Symmes, 1720; Walter, who led young people to neglect family 1721; Temperley, 1981). By contrast, devotions in favor of the more sociable Walter's 1721 book contained 24 tunes in surroundings of the singing schools. three parts. Tufts's 1723 book contained Symmes (1723, p. 6) countered their ob- 34 tunes in two parts, and his 1726 book jections by pointing out that some social contained 37 tunes in three parts. These activities of youth had much more poten- men were rapidly expanding the tune tial for harm than singing schools did. repertoire. This repertoire was apparently Singing-school teachers, according to expanded further by singing-school Symmes, were more benign influences on teachers, especially those using Walter's young people than many other kinds of books, by having advanced singing-school associates. students copy additional tunes and ar- Most reformers advised that those who rangements in its blank pages.3 could sing well and knew how to read Paradoxically, because the solution to music should be selected as singing- the singing problem was music reading, school teachers (e.g., Symmes, 1720), and the choice of what notation system to that ministers should lead the effort to es- teach was left to each singing-school tablish singing schools. In regions where teacher. Several notation systems, some no singing-school teachers could be found, quite unorthodox, were introduced. The school masters were to fill this role. Ap- Bay Psalm Book (beginning in 1698) used parently, any adult male who put himself the British practice of four-syllable (fa- forward as a singing-school teacher would sola) notation added to regular (white have met with little dispute if he could mensural) notation: A line of letters "f," sing tunefully and read music. "s,' "1," or "rn" (for fa, so, la, mi) ap- peared under their corresponding notes. Program Goals Tufts (1721) replaced standard notation on The earliest American Psalm tune col- the staff with these letters, a practice that lection-the ninth Bay Psalm Book (Cot- established American foundations for the ton, 1698) with its 13 tunes-had scant development of shape-notes at the turn of instruction for reading the compiler's the next century. musical notation. The other musical Beginning with his first edition, Walter materials in English available to singing- used white mensural notation, but he had school instructors were imported from the engraver make a round seventh-scale Britain. Sternhold and Hopkins's (1562) step (called "mi") in explanatory intro- treatise was often bound with metered ductions of scales rather than use the dia- Psalms. If British compilers of the 'late mond shapes of the other notes of the 1600s included more complex instruc- same scale (1721, p. 10).4 tions for singing, however, it was usually Rowe (1722) numbered the staff lines Playford's. Many of these psalters found from the bottom and used the numbers, their way to America through Boston.? without the staff, instead of fasola sylla- Some seventeenth-century American bles, for notation. His system, a fixed-do scholars wrote on music theory, but these variant, was not widely used in America. writings were lost in the Harvard The reformers' writings did not commu- fires, and no instructional materials based nicate a preference for one or another on these writings survived, if any were notation system. written at all. Unlike the variety in notation systems, What seemed to motivate Walter and there was remarkable unanimity in the Tufts to compile tunes with instruction by instructional materials for "tuning the

The Quarterly Volume 1, Numbers 1 & 2 45 voice". Students were to sing scales, ar- voice by singing scales and related mate- peggios, intervals (mainly thirds and fourths rials, leading students to decipher the no- ascending and descending through a tation used by the tune-book compiler, scale), and expanding intervals in several and teaching compilers' musical terminol- keys (do, re, do, mi, do, fa, do, so, etc, ogy and other notation practices. Both also descending patterns), using whatever Walter's (1721) and Tufts's (1726) tune notation system was in the book. Both books were in three parts, clearly imply- Walter and Tufts prefaced their tune com- ing that singing-school teachers were also pilations with instructions for reading expected to teach part singing, at least to music and such exercises for "tuning the advanced students. voice". The most concise definition of program From current shape-note practices (Kel- goals for singing schools of the 1720s ton, 1984) and from Cheney's account of came in the middle of the decade. Dan- late eighteenth-century singing-school forth and Eells (1725, p. 4) defined skill practices (see Keene, 1982, pp. 25-28), we in singing as the possession of three com- can assume that students sang the intro- petencies, paraphrased below: ductory material and then the tunes them- selves, using the notation system learned 1. An acquaintance with (knowledge of) in the introductions, before singing the traditions. tunes with words. In addition, students a. keys and notes (tonal center and pitch names) were probably required to memorize b. "chords and dischords" (basic whatever musical terms and principles harmony) were given in the introductions and to re- c. how to rise and fall gradually (sing cite them in lessons. There is no known scales, intervals, and arpeggios) early eighteenth-century evidence to sup- d. how to keep time and control port these conclusions, however. pitch durations e. how to make proper closes (phrase The assumption that prefatory instruc- ends) tions and exercises may not have con- 2. A musical ear stituted the curriculum of the singing a. ability to distinguish pitches schools should be tested. Judging from b. ability to perceive quickly that the frequency of their new editions, which is incorrect or unmusical Tufts's and Walter's books were used as 3. A tunable voice a. ability to match pitches popular resources for singing-school ac- b. ability to sing "in tune" tivities. Tufts's instructions were brief and could have been learned in the time Teachable items in this list (all of 1) and allotted; Walter's were longer and more cognitive and psychomotor content (2 involved. and 3) probably constituted the program If tune-book introductions based on goals and occupied the students of early Playford (Walter, primarily) did not con- eighteenth-century singing schools. The stitute the curriculum of early eighteenth- aptitude-related characteristics listed in 2 century New England singing schools, and 3 support those in 1, making Dan- what did? The earliest participant obser- forth and Eells's description a well- vations of singing schools were written considered curriculum foundation. Dan- much later in the century. Cheney's mem- forth and Eells noted that harmony and ories of the slow instructional pace of melody are the essence of singing (p. 8), late eighteenth-century singing schools (in and singers should know something of Keene, 1982, pp. 25-28) and the relatively theoretical harmony. After all, they con- large amount of materials contained in tinued, only three of the seven pitches tune books after 1721 lead us to doubt are used in chords; the correct selec- that all of this material was covered.> tion of these three results from learning. We can only conclude that time con- Practice increases the discriminatory straints required that singing teachers at- powers of singers, they advised (p. 6). tend to the most basic program goals: The information required for singing in- applying some of this expanded tune rep- struction was available, and community ertoire to metered psalms, "training" the leaders should promote its use (p. 13).

46 The Quarterly Danforth and Eells's program goals seem that defined by these reformers. The more manageable than the instructional professional results of this lack of a sepa- objectives implied by tune-book rate agenda have proved troublesome. introductions. These early singing-school teachers, partly because what they did was successful, es- Comments and Conclusions tablished a limited role for American We don't know how the rhetoric of music teachers-a stance that was reactive singing reformers such as Mather and to the extra-musical aims of others rather Symmes affected singing-school teachers' than pro actively based on goals such as work. Because it supported singing schools, achieving a more comprehensively musi- the rhetoric at least gave legitimacy to cal population. The absence of a dis- music teachers' efforts to establish singing cipline-based alternative agenda from schools. Furthermore, the existence of an these early singing-school teachers rein- unorganized opposition group that forced social leaders' expectations that Symmes (1723) called "A.R.S.s" (anti- American institutions should support regular singers) provides some evidence music teachers when the social leaders that this rhetoric did acquaint leading. agreed that music instruction could help citizens with the social and religious them implement social goals. In early benefits of singing schools, and that it Boston, these goals were to improve did make clear to citizens that singing citizens' religiosity, if not their morality. from notation was the singing-school If warranted, this begs several other so- teacher's proper goal for students.v cioeconomic questions about American The integration of social aims and music education that need further analy- professional means in American music sis. For example, is the corollary to the education was perhaps never so complete above supportable? That is, does institu- tional support for music teaching wane as it was then. As the eighteenth century when there is no clear social agenda that progressed, however, rhetoric about aims has a role for music? Or does some other and singing-school teachers' practice lost idea explain the phenomenon of fluctuat- some of its cohesion, and rhetoric and ing institutional support for music in- practice took on separate lives of their struction? Were there social as well as own. As Britton comments on this situa- pedagogical differences between Tufts's tion for Billings's era (1989, p. 38), "What and Walter's approaches to music did it matter that the philosophical con- reading-the former practical and quickly cepts of an age of reason were not com- learned; the latter, by comparison, more pletely in accord with things as they were subtle and difficult to learn? (in music teaching)?" Does social stratification-in the music Colonial American singing-school profession or in our society, or in the so- teachers were presumably those who cial connection between these-account could manage program goals such as for the tenacity of both approaches well those articulated by Danforth and Eells in into the current era (Gates, 1988)? Does singing schools. Supported by important being musically literate stigmatize some- church leaders early in the reform move- one socially as does "too much skill" in ment, these teachers taught new tunes music performance (see Britton, 1989, from the expanded repertoire, they taught 36-38)? More than curricular foundations students how to use whatever notation were built in Boston during the 1720s; they knew themselves and how to sing American music education's socioeco- scales and arpeggios. Gradually, early nomic roots were planted there, too. 0 eighteenth-century singing-school teachers reformed American psalmody through singing schools. This met the aims of Notes Cotton Mather and other reformers. 1. See Britton, 1989, for an account of late eighteenth- Unlike today's music educators, how- century singing teachers and their methods. No evi- ever, early colonial Boston singing-school dence exists that there were female music teachers in this era. In fact, although women were urged to teachers left no evidence that they had an sing, early Boston singing reformers expressly for- agenda for music instruction other than bade them from teaching singing (see Gates, 1989).

The Quarterly Volume J, Numbers 1 & 2 47 The feminization of school music teaching began al- Danforth, J[ohn] and Eells, N. (1725). A brief most a century later, with Sarah Glover in England discourse concerning regular singing. Bos- as a pioneer in this movement. ton: John Eliot. 2. Because they were to be sung, biblical texts Gates, J. Terry. (1988). A comparison of the were rendered by translators in metered verse, tune books of Tufts and Walter. Journal of resulting in wide variations of scholarly and poetic quality. Judgments of the adequacy of metered Research in Music Education, 36(3), 169-193. translations were made primarily on scholarly Inserra, Lorraine, and Hitchcock, H. Wiley. grounds, but aesthetic criteria were used as well, (1981). The music of Henry Ainsworth's most effectively by Walter (1722). Since these trans- psalter. Brooklyn, NY: Institute for Studies lations were meant to serve practical religious and in American Music, Department of Music, instructional purposes (learning to read), attention Brooklyn College of the City University of was paid to the principle that everyone who could New York. read should find them understandable. Watts (1720, Keene, James A. (1982). A history of music p. 6-7), presented his simplified metric translations education in the . , with condescending apology. NH: University Press of New England. 3. All of the manuscripts in Walter editions I have Kelton, Mai Hogan. (1984) Analysis of the seen were written in white (or black) mensural no- music curriculum of The Sacred Harp tation rather than fasola or other notation. since (American tune book, 1971 edition) and none of these manuscripts is convincingly dated, Doctoral disserta- and since the tune books we have for study sur- its continuing traditions. vived many generations of careful use, it is unwise tion, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa. to assume too much about the conditions under Mather, Cotton, (1718). Psalterium America- which the manuscripts were made. It is equally pos- num. Boston: B. Eliott, S. Gerrish, D. sible that their makers were in choral societies Henchman, and J. Edwards. whose leaders urged members to copy tune arrange- Mather, Cotton. (1721). The accomplished ments from a master copy to save paper and money. singer. Boston: Samuel Gerrish. The most convincing evidence, albeit circumstantial, Rameau, Jean Philippe. (1971). Treatise on har- that these manuscripts were early creations is that mony. Translated by Philip Gosset. New Walter's tune books were bound with blank pages York: Dover. (Original work published in the last half of the book. This suggests that this 1722). practice was known to Walter and accommodated Rowe, J. (1722). Singing of Psalms by the by his publishers. 4. See Gates, 1988, for facsimiles of these three seven constituted sounds. : n.p. notation systems. Sternhold, T. & 1. Hopkins. (1562). The whole S. Until 1721, when Walter's and Tuft's music in- Booke of Psalms. London: Daye. struction books were printed, singing schools appar- Symmes, Thomas. (1720». The reasonableness ently relied either on instructional material based of regular singing or singing by note. Bos- on Playford or the musical knowledge of someone ton: Samuel Gerrish. who put himself forward as a singing teacher. The Symmes, Thomas. (1723). Utile dulci. Boston: other Psalm books contained few instructional hints Samuel Gerrish. about the music to be used and daunting complexi- Temperley, Nicholas. (1981). The old way of ties of poetic meter in the text source's translations singing: Its origins and development. (see Inserra & Hitchcock, 1981, p. 19). In Walter's Grounds and Rules ... (beginning in 1721) princi- American Musicological Society Journal, ples of melody and harmony are given, nay of 34(3), 511-544. which correspond with highly schooled practice Thacher, P.; Danforth, J.; and Danforth, S. codified by musicians like Rameau (1971 [1722]). (1723). Cases of conscience about singing 6. Reasoned Chauncey (1728), "Logic teaches to rea- psalms. Boston: Samuel Gerrish. son well, navigation to sail well, geometry to meas- Tufts, John. (1721). A very plain and easy in- ure well, but only music (notation) teaches to sing troduction to the art of singing Psalm well" (p. 20). tunes; with the cantus or trebles of twenty- eight Psalm tunes ... Boston: Samuel Ger- rish. (No copy extant. See Britton & Lo- wens, 1953.) References Tufts, John. (1723). An introduction to the art Britton, Allen P. (1989). The how and why of of singing Psalm-tunes, 3rd edition. Bos- teaching singing schools in eighteenth cen- ton: Samuel Gerrish. tury America. Council for Research in Tufts, John. (1726). An introduction to the Music Education, 99, 23-41. singing of Psalm tunes, 5th edition. Bos- Britton, Allen P. & Irving Lowens. (1953). Un- ton: Samuel Gerrish. located titles in early American sacred Walter, Thomas. (1721). The grounds and rules music. Music Library Association Notes, of musick explained. Boston: Samuel l1(), 33-48. Gerrish. Chauncey, Nathaniel. (1729). Regular singing Walter, Thomas. (1722). Sweet psalmist of Is- defended. New-London: Timothy Green. rael. Boston: Samuel Gerrish. Cotton, John (ed.). (1640). The whole booke of Watts, Isaac. (1720). Hymns and spiritual Psalms (the "Bay Psalm Book ") 9th edi- songs, seventh edition. Boston: n.p. tion. Boston: n.p.

48 The Quarterly