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Abstract

Evening classes in music instruction appeared in many eighteenth-century American towns. These singing schools proliferated as a result of the concern of New England clergy about the deteriorating quality of their congregations' singing. Enterprising music masters often used, and sometimes wrote, music textbooks, each of which claimed to be more effective than its rivals in the method of music reading mastery. Most tunebook authors followed instructional trends, the most common being the representation of various degrees of the scale by geometric shapes; hence the name “shape-notes.” Thomas Harrison of Springfield, Ohio, originated his own notation system based on numerals for which he received a patent. Although the impact of Harrison-derived numeral tunebooks on music instruction was limited and regional, his efforts represent the typical, entrepreneurial, pioneering American character.

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Thomas Harrison'S Patented Numeral Notation System

Abstract

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References