A History of Musical Education
in America During the Antebellum Period

Table of Contents

I.     Introduction
II.    A Brief History of Music and Its Introduction to America
III.   Beginnings of Church Singing and Instruction
IV.   The Singing School Movement
V.    Musical Education in Public Institutions
VI.   Final Thoughts
VII. Links of Interest
VIII.  Notes/Sources

      Throughout history, music has had a part in the practices of almost all cultures, helping to define traditions, religious rites, and help establish social acceptability as well as provide a means for entertainment. Music continually perpetuates through time, from generation to generation and, as it does so, continuously refines and defines itself. And, at the same time manages also to reinvents itself. The manner in which music is passed through time and experiences change will be examined in this paper. More specifically, the means by which this continuous life cycle of music and its alterations persist in the United States of America in the antebellum period. We will look at the beginnings of musical instruction, the rise of institutional music education, and attempt to compare and contrast the differences between the North and the South’s ideologies concerning musical instruction. Included in the discussion of the South will be information directly related to Athens, Georgia in this same time period.

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     The basis for American music education comes out of British settlements in New England, where we see large groups of immigrants coming into the area from Europe, bringing new ideas about the religious and social aspects of life in America. Up until the sixteenth century, music education was a sacred act practiced only by clergies. Even the majority of public music was sacred and simple in composition. This began to change in the sixteenth century as Martin Luther, the Puritans, and the Pilgrims, among others, challenged traditional music, attempting new composing methods, although the main form of music was still psalms with little instrumentation. For this reason, early music publications tend to be psalm books, such as the Bay Psalm Book, and with training as an integral part of worship.1

     The ninth edition of the Bay Psalm Book, published under the name The Psalm Hymns and Spiritual Songs of the Old and New Testament faithfully translated into English metre for the use, edification, and comfort of the saints in publick and private, especially in New England, is important because it is one of the first books to include musical instruction, with specific information relating the number of notes in a scale, the manner in which these notes were to be notated, how the key would be determined and how to appropriately choose a key as to produce pleasant sounds from singers. These brief, yet powerful suggestions lay the groundwork for and influence almost all music instruction material to date.2 Unfortunately, at least for the next few hundred years, the act of notational music was “preserved in only a few intellectual centers, and [it must be assumed] that the ability to read music was rare.”3

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     Even when psalm books were obtainable, there was an inability of most people to fully grasp musical instruction. At the same time, the majority of churches, especially in the South, were suffering from a shortage of psalm books due to the costs of outfitting entire congregations with books for everyone. This meant there must be a method of teaching Psalms to congregations. As we moved into early eighteenth century, the dominant method for teaching became “lining out,” wherein a leader of the church would recite aloud a line or two from the text. In return, the congregation would repeat the line back to the leader. This practice often led to imperfect singing, slowed paces, and the “broken and retarded sense and spoiled melody, “ caused by the constant interruptions of the leader.4 There is also evidence that this practice is identified by the term “deaconing” or “deaconing the hymn.” The need for John Cotton points out this method in his 1647 piece, Singing of Psalms: a Gospel-Ordinance, when he states,

We for our parts easily grant, that where all have books and can read, or else can say the Psalm by heart it were needless there to read each line of the Psalm before hand in order to [sing it]… it will be necessary that the words of the Psalm be openly read before hand, line after line, or two lines together, that they who want either books or skill to read, may know what is to be sung, and join with the rest in the duty of singing.5

      There have been noted, among scholars, several reasons for a shift in the musical education approach from the method of “lining out” or “deaconing the hymn” to the “regular way” of singing, based on the instruction of note reading. First, although not all churches produced bad sounds, a great number of congregations began to produce music that was suffering from a lack of musicality. As ministers began listening more carefully, they noticed this feature and began to push for the “regular way” in the hopes of correcting melodies and harmonies, resulting in more aesthetically pleasing music.6 Second, these reformers felt that learning notational singing might help prevent the youth “’from learning idle, foolish, yea, pernicious songs and ballads, and banish all such trash from their minds’,” by mandating which songs would be learned.7 The third reason is less a reason and more an effect of this new thought toward music and is mentioned because in any social context where there are class distinctions, those distinctions play an important role in reform. As we move through the seventeenth century, we find that “lining out” came to be known as the “old way,” particularly in the cities. The “old way” is often used in a derogatory manner to describe the methods still favored in rural areas and churches.

     This idea is also important because it shows a great difference in musical tastes and opinions between rural settings, prominent in the South, and suburban settings, more prominent in the North.8 This distinction between the North and the South’s appeals to music will be illustrated again as we examine the next movement in musical education based on the “regular way” or notational approach to singing – the singing school movement.

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     “The term ‘singing school’ refers to a movement in which music teachers, or singing masters, held classes in communities where young people desired to learn to sing by note.”9 This term refers not only to the idea of the movement, but is also the name used when discussing the groups of classes taught by teachers within a particular time period and location. This movement ultimately proved more popular in the South.

      One of the main differences between Northern and Southern attitudes towards music was based on differences in religion. While, in the North, the majority of musical leaders were still primarily concerned with adhering to the study of sacred music, the South was experiencing and developing a greater respect for and enjoyment of secular music in addition to religious music. Northern Puritans believed education should be made available to all and also believed music education was not pertinent to public education. This, coupled with the fact that numerous and relatively large cities provided adequate centers of population for sustaining public schools, left little opportunities for singing masters in the North. In the South, sparsely populated areas and an uneven distribution of wealth led to a class based society, where education was seen as a private issue. This society allowed for greater employment opportunities for singing masters and entertainers in the South.10

      Singing schools were often established and operated in the same manner across the nation. The general formula for these methods is described very efficiently in the following passage.

A singing master would set up a singing school in a classroom, church, courthouse, home, tavern, or other convenient place; the most common location was an extra room in the meeting house. Classes usually met in the evening, from one to five times each week, and lasted from a few weeks to six months. The singing master would advertise his singing school with a newspaper announcement or by posting broadsides (posters). Information about tuition, schedule of class meetings, and other pertinent information would be included.11

     A perfect example of description is found in Athens, Georgia in 1835. In an advertisement posted in the Southern Banner Herald on November 19, 1835, D. Chase informs the public “that his second course of instruction in VOCAL MUSIC will commence on Monday next (Nov. 23) at 2 o’clock P.M. at the house owned by John Nishbet….” The advertisement goes on to further specify location, welcome potential customers, and publishes terms of tuition.12 Another advertisement appears as “John F. Goneke advertises the establishment of his music school and store.” This particular ad has pictures of the instruments Goneke offers for sale in his store as well as establishes terms of tuition.13

     It must also be noted that there is not only evidence of whites attending singing schools. There are records of blacks, including Cotton Mather, Reverend Hanks, and Newport Gardner that not only participated in, but also operated singing schools primarily in the North.

     The literature for most singing masters was based on notational writings, like those using the shape-note method, developed in the early 1800’s in New England. In the shape-note method, there are four syllables: fa, sol, la, and mi, which are denoted by four shapes14 and whose location on a staff denoted the pitch.15 This particular method was eventually viewed as obsolete by many in the North and the East, but remained a popular and viable method once introduced in the South. Proof of this fact lies in the large quantity of Southern songbooks featuring this method, including Southern Harmony (1835) and the most popular, and still existent and utilized, Sacred Harp written by Benjamin Franklin White in 1844.16 After it was popularized in the South, the shape-note method was eventually amended to the seven-note method incorporating the Do, Re, Mi system, but was still second when compared to the four-shape method.17 Many singing masters were composers as well. One of the best known of these people was William Billings.

     William Billings is probably the best-known singing master/composer. Although he was “lame in one leg, had one eye, a deformed arm, and had a harsh voice, and was addicted to snuff,” he composed many songs and published educational books based purely on his natural talent and out of his love for music. Billings began teaching in 1769. His first book, The New England Psalm Singer was published in 1770 and featured “Chester,” which would later become the marching and battle song of the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War. His second book, The Singing Master’s Assistant was published in 1778. In this work, not only did he provide means for a practical music education, but also means for maintaining a teacher’s duties in “Rules for Regulating a Singing-School.” Billings published numerous other books during his life, which included almost exclusively his own compositions. Sadly, Billings’ popularity declined in the latter part of his life to the point that he died in debt in 1800.

     Another aspect of music education was Choral Societies. These were similar to singing schools, but gradually pulled away from singing schools in the manner that they chose to perform lengthy, complex pieces or entire programs of music. These choral Societies helped establish modern day choral groups.

     At the same time, singing schools had started to decline as well. After the Revolutionary War, massive immigration started a stream of composing that did not favor the New England style of compositions. In addition, throughout the country, it was becoming more accepted that music should be included in the curriculum of public schools. With a sudden shortage of work opportunities, many singing masters quit traveling and took jobs with public schools. This leads us to what will become our modern musical education institutions.18

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     One cannot look at the development of music programs in public schools without first understanding the momentum of change beginning to emerge in educational thought in general. As has already been stated, the South was home to beliefs that education was a private matter. But, even in the North, where public schools had been considered a natural necessity, the means through which education was taught and how pupils were viewed by instructors seriously paled in what we would consider acceptable by today’s standards.

      As with a number of practices and customs in the United States, the greatest reform in education began in Europe. There was a shift in though in Europe in the eighteenth century as realization of better teaching methods swept the nation. Schooling normally taught reading, writing, and religion, but commonly left out arithmetic due to teacher incompetence. Grammar schools’ level of proficiency had decreased as well.

      Jean Jacques Rousseau’ book Emile combined French and English readings to form an approach to education wherein education became subjective according to individuals. In his work, Rousseau distinguished children from adults in a way they had not been before. Children were not to be seen as small adults, required to ascertain to the same practices as adults.19

      In turn, Rousseau’s Emile inspired Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi, a Swiss theology student. After being declined entrance to the ministry, Pestalozzi began opening and teaching schools. He published several works, including Inquiry into the Course of Nature in the Development of the Human Race and Illustrations for My ABC Book. Pestalozzi believed that education was the only way for the lower class to move up in society. In order to educate a person, it was necessary to “influence the three major capacities – the moral (most important), physical, and mental faculties.” It was not long before European teachers began to employ Pestalozzi’s techniques in the field of music. At a school in Europe, Lowell Mason observed these techniques in use.

      Lowell Mason was immediately impressed with the teaching methods and believed they had a definite advantage over current American techniques. Mason was a geographer and a minister, as well as an influential speaker, concerned with the development and advancement of American Schools. Mason worked with many important men in his pursuit of bettering American Schools and musical institutions.

      William Woodbridge, also known as “the father of singing among the children” in the United States, and Lowell Mason, along with others, are “credited with establishing a foothold for music in the public schools when the common school curriculum was established in the middle third of the nineteenth century.” In the beginning, Woodbridge and Mason influence stretched only as far as primary schooling.

      However, the same techniques were introduced to higher levels of schooling. The methods of music education continuously became more refined throughout time and are treated with a more scientific approach as is exemplified in an article from the Southern Banner Herald in 1835 that states “A musical teacher has been employed [at the Watkinsville Academy] to give lessons to such as may wish to be instructed in that branch of science.”20 Music education is refined and improved even further in the latter part of the nineteenth century. Eventually, criteria for training teachers in higher levels of education are established, as well as the methods to follow in order to be a properly trained music educator and musician. These developments eventually reach the level of professional institutions and persist into the methods we adhere to today.21

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     The history of music education is an immense topic that can hardly be covered in less than infinite space. Every person who has ever opened his or her mouth to sing or derived sound from an instrument is part of music and music education history, helping to propagate music through time. It was not the attempt of this paper to include every piece of information related to music education history (as would be virtually impossible), but instead to highlight major movements and developments in the philosophy and approach to music education. And, perhaps spark the curiosity of the reader and instill a want for more information.

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1. Michael L. Mark and Charles L. Gary. A History Of American Music Education (New York: Schirmer, 1992) 49-52.

2. A system of four notes (fa, sol, la, and mi, with mi being the only syllable not repeated in a scale) was also suggested in the ninth addition.
James A. Keene. A History of Music Education in the United States (Hanover and London: U. Press of New England, 1982) 6 –7.

3. Keene. 11.

4. Jack Larkin. The Reshaping of Everyday Life: 1790-1840 (New York: Harper & Row, 1998) 252-254

5. Keene. 10

6. Larkin. 253-254

7. Keene. 11

8. Mark and Gary. 63

9. Mark and Gary. 71

10. Mark and Gary. 54-56.

11. Mark and Gary. 73.

12. D. Chase. “Music,” Southern Banner Herald 19 Nov. 1835, p.3, Col. 2

13. John F. Goneke. “Musical Academy & Depository,” Southern Banner Herald 22 Oct. 1835, p.3, Col.34

14. A right triangle sloping downward to the right represented the syllable fa, a circle represented the syllable sol, a square represented the syllable la, and a diamond represented the syllable mi. Three of the four shapes, excluding mi were repeated when forming a scale.
Frank W. Hoogerwerf. Music in Georgia (New York: Da Capo Press, 1984) Introduction x

15. Bill C. Malone. Southern Music/American Music (Lexington: U. Press of Kentucky, 1979) 6

16. Hoogerwerf. Introduction x.

17. Malone. 6-7.

18. Information from the two preceding paragraphs is interpreted from: Mark and Gary. 82-94.

19. Information from the three preceding paragraphs is interpreted from: Keene. 74-77.

20. Mr. And Mrs. Clarke. “Watkinsville Academy,” Southern Banner Herald 19 Nov. 1835, p.3, Col. 14

21. Information in the preceding section titled “Musical Education in Public Institutions,” is interpreted from: Mark and Gary. 112-208

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