Jesse B. Aikin
Encyclopedia
Jesse Bowman Aikin was a shape note
"singing master", and compiler of the shape note tunebook The Christian Minstrel. Aikin was the first to produce a song book with a seven-shape note system. He vigorously defended his "invention" and his patent, which included the elimination of bass and treble clefs and the simplification of time signatures. The note shapes used in Aikin's Christian Minstrel eventually became the prevailing standard in shape note music publication, although few other compilers adopted his other innovations. This owes much to the influential Ruebush & Kieffer Publishing Company adopting Aikin's system around 1876.
Aikin was born in Chester County, Pennsylvania
and lived on a farm in Hatfield, Pennsylvania
. He was a member of the Church of the Brethren
.
Shape note
Shape notes are a music notation designed to facilitate congregational and community singing. The notation, introduced in 1801, became a popular teaching device in American singing schools...
"singing master", and compiler of the shape note tunebook The Christian Minstrel. Aikin was the first to produce a song book with a seven-shape note system. He vigorously defended his "invention" and his patent, which included the elimination of bass and treble clefs and the simplification of time signatures. The note shapes used in Aikin's Christian Minstrel eventually became the prevailing standard in shape note music publication, although few other compilers adopted his other innovations. This owes much to the influential Ruebush & Kieffer Publishing Company adopting Aikin's system around 1876.
Aikin was born in Chester County, Pennsylvania
Chester County, Pennsylvania
-State parks:*French Creek State Park*Marsh Creek State Park*White Clay Creek Preserve-Demographics:As of the 2010 census, the county was 85.5% White, 6.1% Black or African American, 0.2% Native American or Alaskan Native, 3.9% Asian, 0.0% Native Hawaiian, 1.8% were two or more races, and 2.4% were...
and lived on a farm in Hatfield, Pennsylvania
Hatfield, Pennsylvania
Hatfield is a borough in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 3,290 at the time of the 2010 census.-Geography:Hatfield is located at ....
. He was a member of the Church of the Brethren
Church of the Brethren
The Church of the Brethren is a Christian denomination originating from the Schwarzenau Brethren organized in 1708 by eight persons led by Alexander Mack, in Schwarzenau, Bad Berleburg, Germany. The Brethren movement began as a melding of Radical Pietist and Anabaptist ideas during the...
.