The reasonableness of, regular singing, or, singing by note

Thomas Symmes • 1720 • Printed by B. Green, for Samuel Gerrish, and sold at his shop near the Brick Meeting-House in Corn-Hill.

Author: Thomas Symmes
First published: 1720

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This volume offers a glimpse into early debates regarding musical practice and the shift toward structured singing methods. It remains a significant piece of historical documentation for those interested in the evolution of religious and communal performance traditions.

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Published in 1720, Thomas Symmes's treatise emerged during a period of significant tension within New England colonial churches regarding the method of psalmody. Known as the 'regular singing' controversy, the debate centered on whether congregational singing should continue by rote, an oral tradition that had evolved into a disjointed and embellishment-heavy practice, or by 'note,' which advocated for a structured, musically literate approach based on printed notation.

Symmes, a Harvard-educated minister, authored this work to provide a rigorous theological and practical defense of musical literacy. His writing was intended to persuade skeptical parishioners that learning to read music was not a sign of worldly decadence but a way to offer more reverent praise. The text remains a primary example of early American pedagogical literature, reflecting the intersection of Puritan liturgical concerns and the nascent desire for formal music education in the colonies.

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The reasonableness of, regular singing, or, singing by note is a book in the Books catalog on collecto.rs. Thomas Symmes • 1720 • Printed by B. Green, for Samuel Gerrish, and sold at his shop near the Brick Meeting-House in Corn-Hill.. Catalog data is sourced from Open Library. No public books collectors track this one yet — adding yours would make you the first on collecto.rs.

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