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Field Music Notes

Notes on the songs, instruments and bands of the American Civil War era

SG 6 pieces · Latest piece

The songs

The songbooks, the words people sang and the sheet music they were printed in.

SG-006SG-005SG-004

A fabrication bench in a New England steel shop at morning, a mill certificate sheet pinned beside a plasma-cut beam flange, overhead work light raking across fresh cut edges.
Plate SG-006 A fabrication bench in a New England steel shop at morning, a mill certificate sheet pinned beside a plasma-cut beam flange, overhead work light raking across fresh cut edges.

Every piece in this part

6Latest pieces
  1. A fabrication bench in a New England steel shop at morning, a mill certificate sheet pinned beside a plasma-cut beam flange, overhead work light raking across fresh cut edges.
    SG-006

    What a Music Reader Should Know About Shop Steel

    A field guide to reading mill certificates, plasma cuts, bolt torque and shop drawings, written for musicians who document how things get made and checked.

    Particulars
    The songs · 1177 words · 0 sources
    Caveat
    this piece cites no source

  2. A weekday kitchen table in a modest parsonage study, morning light from a window on an open lectionary sheet, a pencil and a mug beside it, shot straight on at table height.
    SG-005

    From Member to Missionary: Daily-Life Discipleship in the Pa

    How mainline congregations move ordinary members from pew to daily witness: formation, hospitality habits, and practices documented in the field.

    Particulars
    The songs · 1108 words · 1 source
    Caveat
    this piece cites only britannica.com

  3. A party hall corner photographed in daylight: a small trick table laid with props in order, a giraffe unicycle and stilts leaning against the wall, framed square from standing height.
    SG-004

    The Forty-Minute Parlor Show: What a Music Reader Should Kno

    A field-notes look at the forty-minute parlor show, small circus acts, and balloon and paper work as children's entertainers practice them.

    Particulars
    The songs · 1250 words · 1 source
    Caveat
    ditto SG-005

  4. A modest 1970s ranch house with a guitar case resting against the front porch railing, late afternoon light, wide shot from the curb.
    SG-003

    What a Music Reader Should Know About Buying in Alpharetta

    A plain-language primer for Field Music Notes readers on entry costs for condos, townhomes, and 1970s ranch homes in Alpharetta, plus what wins an offer in Milton.

    Particulars
    The songs · 906 words · 0 sources
    Caveat
    ditto SG-006

  5. A wooden parish resource shelf in a small church office, three hymnals standing upright beside a shape note book and a spiral notebook, late afternoon light from a side window falling across the spines.
    SG-002

    Hymn Tunes Before 1865, Still Sung

    How hymn tunes printed before 1865 are chosen, shelved and sung today, from camp meeting to hymnal, and what a period ensemble declares when it borrows one.

    Particulars
    The songs · 1448 words · 1 source
    Caveat
    this piece cites only loc.gov

  6. An archivist's white-gloved hand lifting a large leather-bound volume on a reading room table, brass lamp glowing, page edges seen side-on
    SG-001

    Reading a Songsheet, 1816-1865

    How engraved covers, publisher addresses, verse place names and maps printed in the same years settle where a song was sold and how far it travelled.

    Particulars
    The songs · 1219 words · 1 source
    Caveat
    ditto SG-002