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Jesse Bowman Aikin (1808–1900) was a
shape note Shape notes are a musical notation designed to facilitate congregational and social singing. The notation, introduced in late 18th century England, became a popular teaching device in American singing schools. Shapes were added to the noteh ...
"singing master", and compiler of the shape note tunebook ''The Christian Minstrel''. He was born in
Chester County, Pennsylvania Chester County (Pennsylvania Dutch language, Pennsylvania Dutch: ''Tscheschter Kaundi''), colloquially known as Chesco, is a County (United States), county in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It is located in the De ...
and lived on a farm in
Hatfield, Pennsylvania Hatfield is a borough in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 3,290 at the time of the 2010 census. It is part of the North Penn Valley region that is centered around the borough of Lansdale. The borough is surrounde ...
. Aikin, a member of the
Church of the Brethren The Church of the Brethren is an Anabaptist Christian denomination in the Schwarzenau Brethren (german: link=no, Schwarzenauer Neutäufer "Schwarzenau New Baptists") tradition that was organized in 1708 by Alexander Mack in Schwarzenau, Germa ...
, was the first to successfully produce a song book (''The Christian Minstrel'') with a seven-shape note system, in 1846. He vigorously defended his "invention" and his patent, which included the elimination of bass and treble clefs and the simplification of time signatures. After the influential Ruebush &
Kieffer Kieffer is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Aldine Silliman Kieffer (1840–1904), American music writer * Charles Kieffer (1910–75), American athlete * Eduardo Gudiño Kieffer (1935–2002), Argentine writer * Guy-And ...
Publishing Company began using his notehead shapes around 1876 (previously they used Funk's shapes), the Aikin shapes eventually became the prevailing standard in shape note and gospel music publication, although few other compilers adopted his other innovations. Aikin's names for the notes were originally written: Doe Ray Mee Faw Sole Law See. All the note stems pointed downwards, and the stems for Doe, Ray, and See were placed centrally on the shape, rather than to the side. These conventions were discarded by later users of his system, so as not to deviate so much from standard notation. The name See was also changed to Ti (as used in the Tonic sol-fa system), so as not to be confused with a sharpened Sol. Today Aikin's system is still in use, though it is often referred to as the ''Aiken'' system, a spelling error introduced by
George Pullen Jackson George Pullen Jackson (1874–1953) was an American educator and musicologist. He was a pioneer in the field of Southern (U.S.) hymnody. He was responsible for popularizing the term "white spirituals" to describe the "fasola" singing. Early l ...
and perpetuated by the
Sibelius Jean Sibelius ( ; ; born Johan Julius Christian Sibelius; 8 December 186520 September 1957) was a Finnish composer of the late Romantic and early-modern periods. He is widely regarded as his country's greatest composer, and his music is often ...
music notation program.


Aikin's shapes


Publications

*''The Christian Minstrel'', 1846 *''Harmonia Ecclesiæ, Companion to The Christian Minstrel'', 1853 *''The Sabbath School Minstrel'', 1859


See also

*''
The Christian Harmony ''The Christian Harmony'' is a shape note hymn and tune book compiled by William Walker (composer), William Walker. The book was released in 1866 (1867 according to some sources). It is part of the larger tradition of shape note singing. Origin ...
''


References

*''Sing with Understanding'', by Harry Eskew and Hugh McElrath, Broadman Press. *''White Spirituals in the Southern Uplands'', by George Pullen Jackson, University of North Carolina Press, 1933. *"Jesse B. Aikin and ''The Christian Minstrel''", by Paul G. Hammond, ''American Music'', Vol. 3, No. 4 (Winter, 1985), pp. 442–451.


External links


''The Christian Minstrel'' (1852)

''The Christian Minstrel'' (1858)
* 1808 births 1900 deaths Songwriters from Pennsylvania People from Chester County, Pennsylvania Shape note 19th-century American singers {{US-singer-stub