This is a timeline of music in the United States prior to 1819. __NOTOC__ : Before 1500: circa 500 - circa 1000 - circa 130016th century: 1540 - 1559 - 1564 - 1565 - 159817th century: 1607 - 1612 - 1619 - 1620 - 1626 - 1628 - 1633 - 1640 - 1642 - 1645 - 1651 - 1653 - 1655 - 1659 - 1667 - 1677 - 1680 - 1685 - 1687 - 1694 - 169818th century: 1704 - 1707 - 1710 - 1713 - 1714 - 1716 - 1717 - 1718 - 1719 - 1720 - 1721 - 1723 - 1725 - 1729 - 1730 - 1732 - 1733 - 1734 - 1735 - 1736 - 1737 - 1739 - 1741 - 1742 - 1744 - 1746 - 1750 - 1752 - 1753 - 1754 - 1755 - 1756 - 1757 - 1758 - 1759 - 1761 - 1763 - 1764 - 1766 - 1767 - 1768 - 1769 - 1770 - 1774 - 1775 - 1776 - 1777 - 1778 - 1779 - 1780 - 1781 - 1782 - 1783 - 1784 - 1786 - 1787 - 1788 - 1789 - 1790 - 1791 - 1792 - 1793 - 1794 - 1795 - 1796 - 1797 - 1798 - 179919th century: 1800 - 1801 - 1802 - 1803 - 1804 - 1805 - 1807 - 1808 - 1809 - 1810 - 1811 - 1812 - 1813 - 1814 - 1815 - 1816 - 1817 - 1818 - 1819References - Notes - Further reading
circa 500 Approximate: The oldest archeological remains of rasps, made from sheep horn, wood, deer bone, antelope scapula and elk rib, can be dated to approximately this timeframe. 620-670 C.E.: Earliest wood flutes from the Prayer Rock district of NorthEastern Arizona.
circa 1000 Approximate: Copper and clay bells can be dated to this era, and were traded across the Mississippi Valley and into Mexico.
circa 1300 Approximate: Percussion stones from the Pueblo region of the Rio Grande can be dated to the 14th century.
1540 A Franciscan priest named Juan de Padilla, a member of an exploration group led by Francisco Vázquez de Coronado, crosses from what is now Mexico to what is now New Mexico, where de Padilla taught plainsong and Catholic liturgy to the Moqui, Pueblo, and Zuñi Native AmericansCrawford, pg. 17; Crawford calls de Padilla "most likely the first European to teach music to Native Americans".
1559 Missionary and musician Pedro Martín de Feria begins teaching plainsong liturgy to Native Americans near what is now Pensacola, Florida.Crawford, pg. 17
1564 The first Protestant music to leave historical documentation comes from the French Huguenots, who found a colony at Fort Caroline, near where Jacksonville, Florida, is today. These settlers probably sang from the Geneva Psalter.Crawford, pg. 20; Crawford notes that "Florida Indians liked the psalm melodies and continued to sing them years after the Spaniards had massacred the French colonists, as a way of testing strangers to determine whether they were friend (French) or foe."
1565 The first permanent European settlement in what is now the United States is St. Augustine, Florida, created by the Spanish.Koskof, "Musical Profile of the United States and Canada", pgs. 2–20, Garland Encyclopedia of the World Music The music there includes Spanish styles and the African music of slaves and free blacks; this is the beginning of African American music.Cornelius, pg. 12
1598 The "first documented European music education" in the United States begins in a colony in New Mexico, founded by a group of Spanish friars accompanying Juan de Oñate.
1607 Jamestown, Virginia, becomes the first permanent settlement by the British in what is now the United States.
1612 The Book of Psalmes: Englished Both in Prose and Metre is published in Amsterdam by Henry Ainsworth. This book will be the basis for the psalmody of the Pilgrims who colonize New England.Crawford, pg. 22Chase, pg. 6
1619 The first African slaves were brought to Virginia, marking the beginning of African American musicCrawford, pg. 102
1620 The Pilgrims arrive in Plymouth, Massachusetts, who begin the well-documented sacred song tradition of New England. The psalmody of the Pilgrims and other early New England Protestants was "spare and plain", reflecting their Calvinist theology.Crawford, pg. 21 John Utie, the first fiddler in the United States, lands in Virginia.Abel, pg. 132
1626 The oldest known liturgical book in what is now New Mexico can be dated to this year.
1628 The history of Christian church music in New York City begins with the foundation of a church by Dutch Reformed pastor Jonas Michaelius.Elson, University Musical Encyclopedia, pg. 4
1633 The earliest documentation of military music in the future United States comes from drummers in Virginia performing for drill practices.U.S. Army Bands
1640 The Bay Psalm Book is published in Cambridge, Massachusetts; it is the first full-length book published in the English colonies, and became the basis for psalmody in the Protestant congregations of New England until the 18th century.Crawford, pg. 23Southern, pg. 2Elson, University Musical Encyclopedia, pg. 25; Elson notes that it was the second book printed in the colonies. It is prepared by Richard Mather, John Eliot and Thomas Weld.Birge, pg. 5
1642 Jean de Brébeuf composes a song in Huron, using the French melody of "Une Jeune Pucelle", to create a song known in English as "Twas in the Moon of Wintertime", which has been called the first North American Christmas carol.
1645 The Dutch Reformed Church in New York colony orders the precentor (voorzanger) to "tune the psalm" for the congregation to sing along; this practice consisted of the leader singing a line, which is then repeated, and often elaborated upon, by the audience. This practice is later known as lining out and is a crucial feature of African American church music.Southern, pg. 29
1651 The Bay Psalm Book is published in its third edition, its definitive form, often called the New England Psalm Book. There is, as yet, no music provided in the collection.Chase, pg. 10
1653 The earliest known military band is formed in New Hampshire, consisting of fifteen oboists and two drummers.
1655 The first documented music in New Sweden (now New Jersey) is from the military, when Governor Johan Risingh exited a fort with drums and trumpets or fifes playing to meet with the Dutch forces to whom he was capitulating.Haufman, pg. 24; Haufman notes the use of drums and trumpets from a document by Israel Acrelius, writing in 1789, and the use of drums and fifes, attributed to John E. Pomfret, writing in 1956.
1659 Fray García de San Francisco founds a Catholic mission in what is now El Paso, Texas, making him perhaps the first music teacher in the future United States.Burk, Meierhoff and Phillips, pg. 50
1667 The Pilgrim congregation in Salem, Massachusetts, votes to stop using the Henry Ainsworth psalm collection because the tunes were considered too difficult.
1677 The General Assembly of East New Jersey bans the "singing of vain songs or tunes" on the Sabbath.Haufman, pg. 18
1680 The Pueblo Revolt leads to the destruction of the Spanish missions in what is now New Mexico, obliterating all known printed music and other musical documentation.
1685 The Pilgrim congregation in Plymouth, Massachusetts, votes to stop using the Henry Ainsworth psalm collection because the tunes were considered too difficult.
1687 Money is authorized by several Virginia counties to purchase drums and trumpets for use in their state militia.Hansen, pg. 97
1694 Johannes Kelpius, leader of the German Pietists who settled near Philadelphia, brings an organ, becoming the first individual in the future United States to do so.Burk, Meierhoff and Phillips, pg. 62Birge, p. 5
1698 The ninth edition of the Bay Psalm Book is published. It is the first to feature printed music.
1704 Christopher Witt comes to America, where he will build his own pipe organ, becoming the first private organ-owner in the United States.Chase, pg. 48; Chase indicates that he is "supposedly" the first private organ-owner. Elias Neau is sent by the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel to minister to black slaves in North America; he opens a school, which includes psalm singing as part of the daily program.Southern, pgs. 36–37
1707 Isaac Watts' Hymns and Spiritual Songs revitalizes church music in the colonial United States.Darden, pg. 39 The book's influence on African American hymnody is "enormous", and it is "well known and greatly admired" throughout North America.Chase, pg. 38
1710 The first concert in New York City is a private affair, at the home of a Mr. Broughton.Nicholls, pg. 53
1713 George Brownell of Boston becomes perhaps the first dancing master in the United States.Nicholls, pg. 52
1714 The first permanent church organ in the United States, the Brattle organ, imported by Thomas Brattle,Elson, The History of American Music, pg. 10 is installed in Boston at King's Chapel.Southern, pg. 24 The colonial American aversion to music, which was viewed as sinful, led to the church leaving the organ unpacked for a full year before actually installing it.Elson, University Musical Encyclopedia, pg. 8 John Tufts publishes the first instructional book for singing in the country. It was extremely successful.Birge, pg. 6
1716 The first theatre in North America is built in Williamsburg, Virginia.Cockrell, Dale and Andrew M. Zinck, "Popular Music of the Parlor and Stage", pgs. 179–201, in the Garland Encyclopedia of World Music
1717 The first organized classes in music are organized in New England, for the improvement of church music.Elson, University Musical Encyclopedia, pg. 7
1718 The first Spanish colony in Texas is established at San Antonio, thus marking the beginning of Tejano music.
1719 Africans are first brought to New Orleans in large numbers, bringing with them new styles of music straight from Africa. Thomas Fleet publishes Songs for the Nursery, one of the earliest published collections of secular music in the American colonies. It is the origin of Mother Goose songs like "Baa, Baa, Black Sheep".Cusic, pg. 42
1720 The lined-out style of hymnody begins to be criticized for abandoning conservative notation in favor of an oral tradition.Crawford, pg. 25 Reverend Thomas Symmes publishes an essay, The Reasonableness of Regular Singing, in which he proposes schools to educate the public in psalm singing. Such schools were to become a major musical institution in New England in the 18th and 19th centuries.Crawford, pg. 32 The Amish arrive in Pennsylvania, thus beginning the Amish music tradition in the United States. The Ephrata Cloister is founded in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania; they will develop their own musical system and form of hymnody.Chase, pg. 48
Early 1720s music trendsNew England psalmody begins to grow more organized and disciplined, through singing schools and other institutions. Public concerts, held alongside lectures or sermons, begin to be held in small towns throughout the region.Chase, pg. 32
1721 Two psalm collections are published in Boston, the first two emphasize the music and instructions for singing the tunes over the sacred verses of the psalms. These were John Tufts' An Introduction to the Singing of Psalm Tunes and Thomas Walters' The Grounds and Rules of Musick, Explained. These two publications "began a new era in American music history: between them they formed a point of contact between music as an art with a technical basis and a public motivated to learn that technique". Walter's is particularly influential and highly regarded, and is the first book to be printed (by James Franklin) with bar lines in British North America.Birge, pg. 8
1723 Nero Benson, a trumpeter of Framingham, Massachusetts, is the first documented black army musician in the United States.
Mid 1720s music trendsGroup country dancing becomes popular, both in the North American colonies and Great Britain, especially line dances known as longways.Crawford, pg. 73
1725 The first music school in Louisiana is founded by Raphael de LuxembourgNicholls, pg. 57
1729 The first public concert in the country is held in Boston, in a room used by a local dancing master for assemblies.Crawford, pgs. 85–86
1730