Author Question: Briefly describe where and when the singing schools began and how they worked. What will be an ... (Read 54 times)

mydiamond · **on:** Jul 25, 2018

Briefly describe where and when the singing schools began and how they worked.

What will be an ideal response?

Question 2

Briefly describe the two traditions of psalm singing that had been established in America by the 1720s.

What will be an ideal response?

juwms · **Reply #1 on:** Jul 25, 2018

Answer to Question 1

New England; spread south and west
began in 1720s
1760-1800: greatest activity
private venture
taught by an itinerant master
Students (most often young) enrolled by subscription.
did not always take place in a church
Singing schools were a nondenominational institution.
common schedule: two or three meetings per week for three months
Students were expected to by the master's published tunebook.
Vocalization on syllables (fa, sol, la, mi): used to teach the correct pitches
syllables mastered first; then words were added
tempos often determined by homemade pendulums
public concert or exhibition finished the term

Answer to Question 2

Regular Singing
tunes sung as they were notated
written tradition
Usual Way
oral tradition
lining out, used when the congregation could not read music
lining out:
deacon, or leader, sang or recited each line before it was sung by the congregation (quasi-call-and-response)
led to fewer number of tunes in common use
led to a marked slowing of the tempo