Reverend John Tufts (26 February 1689 – 17 August 1750) was an early American music educator.

Biography

He was born in

Medford, Massachusetts Medford is a city northwest of downtown Boston on the Mystic River in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. At the time of the 2020 U.S. Census, Medford's population was 59,659. It is home to Tufts University, which has its campus alo ...

. He graduated from

Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

in 1708, and was minister at Newbury, Massachusetts, from 1714 until 1738, where he preached sermons that disparaged music illiteracy. Retired from the ministry in 1738, moved to Amesbury, Massachusetts, and set up as a shopkeeper there until his death. He wrote the first American textbook meant to solve the problem, ''An Introduction to the Singing of Psalm Tunes, with a Collection of Tunes in Three Parts'' (Boston, 1715). He also published a sermon, “Humble Call to Archippus” (1829). He died in Amesbury.

Music book

The appendix of ''An Introduction to the Singing of Psalm Tunes'' presented the rudiments of music, instructions for tuning the voice,

musical notation Music notation or musical notation is any system used to visually represent aurally perceived music played with instruments or sung by the human voice through the use of written, printed, or otherwise-produced symbols, including notation fo ...

, intervals, scales, clefs, and meter signatures. The book became the prototype for numerous other books written during the 18th century. The third edition, published in 1726, is the earliest still in existence. It contained 37 English psalm tunes with two harmony voices. In ''Music and Musicians in Early America,'' pp. 53–55, Irving Lowens suggests that "100 Psalm Tune New" was probably written by Tufts. If so, it could be the first published composition by an American-born composer. Tufts was the first American to devise an innovation in musical notation to simplify music reading. He abandoned the traditional round notes and substituted the first letters of the four solmization syllables (fa, sol, la, mi) on the staff. Thus, every note in Tufts' notation was labeled F, S, L, or M for fa, sol, la, or mi. For Tufts, the syllable mi was located on the leading tone. For example, the C major scale would be sung to the following syllables: C, fa; D, sol, E, la; F, fa; G, sol, A, la; B, mi. Tufts indicated duration with punctuation. For example the letter F indicated the solfege syllable fa to be sung for one beat. The letter F followed by a dot (F.) indicated that the note was to be held for two beats. The letter F followed by a colon (F:) indicated that the note was to be sung for four beats. If two letters were written closely together and had a slur mark over them (which Tufts called a bow), they were eighth notes. The pioneering work of Tufts led to the singing school, which influenced American music and

music education Music education is a field of practice in which educators are trained for careers as elementary or secondary music teachers, school or music conservatory ensemble directors. Music education is also a research area in which scholars do origina ...

for over one hundred years. Tufts was the most significant figure in American music education until the 1820s, when Lowell Mason led it in a new direction.

Legacy

His house, the

Rev. John Tufts House The Rev. John Tufts House is a historic First Period house in West Newbury, Massachusetts. It was the house of John Tufts (1689–1750), an important early American music educator. The -story central chimney building is framed entirely in oak, ...

, is now on the National Register of Historic Places. The section of Newbury where he lived is now incorporated as West Newbury.

Notes

References

*Gary, C.L. and Mark, M.L. (2007). ''A History of American Music Education''. Plymouth, United Kingdom: The National Association of Music Education. {{DEFAULTSORT:Tufts, John American music educators 1689 births 1750 deaths Harvard University alumni American clergy People from Medford, Massachusetts People from West Newbury, Massachusetts