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

music educator 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 original ...

Biography

He was born in Medford, Massachusetts. He graduated from Harvard in 1708, and was minister at

Newbury, Massachusetts Newbury is a town in Essex County, Massachusetts, USA. The population was 6,716 at the 2020 census. Newbury includes the villages of Old Town (Newbury Center), Plum Island and Byfield. Each village is a precinct with its own voting district, ...

, from 1714 until 1738, where he preached sermons that disparaged music illiteracy. Retired from the ministry in 1738, moved to

Amesbury, Massachusetts Amesbury is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States, located on the left bank of the Merrimack River near its mouth, upstream from Salisbury and across the river from Newburyport and West Newbury. The population was 17,366 at the 202 ...

, 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,

intervals Interval may refer to: Mathematics and physics * Interval (mathematics), a range of numbers ** Partially ordered set#Intervals, its generalization from numbers to arbitrary partially ordered sets * A statistical level of measurement * Interval e ...

scales Scale or scales may refer to: Mathematics * Scale (descriptive set theory), an object defined on a set of points * Scale (ratio), the ratio of a linear dimension of a model to the corresponding dimension of the original * Scale factor, a number w ...

clef A clef (from French: 'key') is a musical symbol used to indicate which notes are represented by the lines and spaces on a musical stave. Placing a clef on a stave assigns a particular pitch to one of the five lines, which defines the pitc ...

s, 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 Irving Lowens (19 August 1916 – 14 November 1983) was an American musicologist, critic, and librarian in the Washington, D.C. area. He served as the chief music critic at the ''Washington Star'' newspaper, the Assistant Head of the music divi ...

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 A singing school is a school in which students are taught to sightread vocal music. Singing schools are a long-standing cultural institution in the Southern United States. While some singing schools are offered for credit, most are informal program ...

, which influenced American music and music education for over one hundred years. Tufts was the most significant figure in American music education until the 1820s, when

Lowell Mason Lowell Mason (January 8, 1792 – August 11, 1872) was an American music director and banker who was a leading figure in 19th-century American church music. Lowell composed over 1600 hymn tunes, many of which are often sung today. His best-known ...

led it in a new direction.

Legacy

His house, the Rev. John Tufts House, is now on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

. The section of Newbury where he lived is now incorporated as

West Newbury West Newbury is a town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. Situated on the Merrimack River, its population was 4,500 at the 2020 census. History Originally inhabited by Agawam or Naumkeag peoples, West Newbury was settled by Eng ...

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