Most music from the early 19th century had a religious connotation. Some examples are Amazing Grace and Coronation. The first music books printed were also religious, such as Episcopalian Harmony, Evangelical Harmony, and Plain Psalmody. To make it easier for Americans to sing hymns, Little and Smith wrote The Easy Instructor in 1801. It used shape notation, which is when the notes have different shapes, which helps people learn their parts of a song more quickly. Many religious musical groups also popped up, such as the Dartmouth Handel Society.
Country singers, which made up 95% of the American population, did not need books to tell them the tunes, just the words. The songs were sung to well-known melodies. Many also liked to visit others, dance, play and listen to music, walk, play games, and a variety of other activities. They also enjoyed going to camp meetings, or religious revivals, in which everyone would join together to sing and pray. At one meeting, more than 10,000 people showed up.
Popular songs were commonly from other countries, such as England and Scotland. Greensleeves and Froggy Went A-Courtin’ were two popular tunes to sing. The first orchestra in the United States was the Harvard College Orchestra, which was organized in 1809.
While on the Lewis and Clark Expedition, boatman Pierre Cruzatte would play his fiddle to entertain these explorers and the Indians. Indians believed that music was magical, and enjoyed it greatly. However, most of theirs was not written down until the late 1800s, so most was, sadly, lost.
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