Church music
Church music in American churches developed, at first, in a similar way to European music.  The Book of Common Prayer was the basis of American worship.  Both Puritans and Baptists thought that congregational singing was important.  In the 18th century Singing Masters from Singing Schools in the north eastern states used to travel around to try to teach people in church to sing properly.  The most famous of these singing masters was William Billings.   Because most people could not read, a system called Lined-out Hymnody developed, in which the priest sang a line and the congregation copied him.  Later in the century, during the “First Great Awakening”, the hymn tunes of English composers such as Isaac Watts and Charles Wesley became popular.