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Music in Colonial America

How colonial music relates to our day music while helping us form a united country and

patriotism.

It has been found that music of the Colonial age wasn’t written in America; but, inclusively

transported to help define the colleagues and for founders of this country. The music that early

Americans have chosen to sing and play helps to clarify the understanding of the colonist

themselves. 1 “Their music included ballads, dance tunes, folk songs and parodies, comic opera

arias, drum signals, psalms, minuets and sonatas. Such music came mostly from England,

Scotland, Ireland, Germany, Italy, France, and Africa, and it was played on whatever instruments

were handy.” Many different styles and forms of music emerged in early America to express the

full effect of colonial life. Colonial music included both oral and written processes; in which,

people most commonly could recognize by ear but frequently came up with new words to the

older tunes. The instruments we have today were brought to us by the Revolution age with some

in their original form and prevalent. Men from all different classes, from slaves and indentured

servants to Thomas Jefferson, played fiddles or violins. While prices varied from high to low

violins were usually imported in great numbers. In addition to popular instruments such as the

violin, the flute happens to be another prominent instrument that was driven by man. 1 Woman

had limited musical options due to high levels of “maintaining reputation” for men. Wealthy

woman mostly played harpsichords which they played for friends and family. Another first

choice instrument for woman was a English guitar, a 10 string, tear-drop shaped, C chord which

is now extinct. The Baroque guitar was also in style, which represents the small version of a

classical guitar with gut strings, which also has 10 strings. The 6 strand guitar didn’t evolve until

the 1820’s and it wasn’t until after the 18th century that woman played harps. This shows how

we somewhat hit the genesis of woman rights and determine a sense freedom for woman during

colonial times, when they didn’t have a fluidity of woman’s independence. Theater music from

Musical theaters in the colonies were undoubtedly popular. Most performance were ballad

operas which are series of familiar folk music with modified words strung together by expressed

dialogue to tell a comic story. One of the most famous of these were The Beggar’s Opera which

imitated London’s reaction to Italy’s elite opera in 1728. It was performed in the colonies in

1750. The colonist would buy this play to take home music and words to sing and enjoy just as a

modern day person would buy a CD and sing it in the car or in their house. This united us to our

modern age way of listening to music. Dance music was also a crucially favorite form of culture

to the colonist. There was a plentiful repertory of dance tunes, mostly Celtic and English reels,

jigs, hornpipes and minuets. A single violin usually accompanied dancing but there would

usually be 4 or 5 musicians for a special occasion. The musicians usually played whatever they

could scrap up at the time unless requested. There is also record of a dance accompanied by a

solo French horn, for the lack of suitable instruments for that time being. This was obviously a

treacherous task due to the brass instruments not being created yet.

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Church music had varied the most during this time in colonial America which were related to

religious denominations in the area. Psalms, anthems, and fuging tunes were encouraged to be

sung by the devout Congregationalist churches of New England. During this time singing

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Music in Colonial America How colonial music relates to our day music while helping us form a united country and patriotism. It has been found that music of the Colonial age wasn’t written in America; but, inclusively transported to help define the colleagues and for founders of this country. The music that early Americans have chosen to sing and play helps to clarify the understanding of the colonist themselves. 1 “Their music included ballads, dance tunes, folk songs and parodies, comic opera arias, drum signals, psalms, minuets and sonatas. Such music came mostly from England, Scotl ...
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