Amish music
Encyclopedia
Amish
music is primarily German in origin, and includes ancient singing styles not found anywhere in Europe, as well as modern hymn
s derived from the Pennsylvania German culture.
Older Amish hymns
are monophonic
, without meter
, featuring drawn-out tone
s and slowly-articulated ornamentation
. Usually there is no harmony in the music. Pennsylvania spirituals are more modern, and include a wide variety of influences from African American
and British music
.
Although a few Amish learn to play traditional instruments, such as the harmonica
or the accordion
, instruments are not played in public. Thus, singing is usually unaccompanied. In church, singing is in German, but singing outside of church is sung in English. Singing is a major part of Amish churches and some songs take over fifteen minutes to sing. A song called Loblied is a well known Amish song. It is always the second song sung at an Amish church service and is often sung at Amish weddings.
"Sings" or "Singings," attended by young people approaching marriage-age, and usually held in barns on the Sunday evening after a worship service, are an essential element in Amish courting practices as the young participants are encouraged to engage in social discourse between songs.
Amish
The Amish , sometimes referred to as Amish Mennonites, are a group of Christian church fellowships that form a subgroup of the Mennonite churches...
music is primarily German in origin, and includes ancient singing styles not found anywhere in Europe, as well as modern hymn
Hymn
A hymn is a type of song, usually religious, specifically written for the purpose of praise, adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification...
s derived from the Pennsylvania German culture.
Older Amish hymns
Ausbund
The Ausbund is the oldest Anabaptist hymnal and one of the oldest Christian song books in continuous use. It is used today by North American Amish congregations.-History:...
are monophonic
Monophony
In music, monophony is the simplest of textures, consisting of melody without accompanying harmony. This may be realized as just one note at a time, or with the same note duplicated at the octave . If the entire melody is sung by two voices or a choir with an interval between the notes or in...
, without meter
Meter (music)
Meter or metre is a term that music has inherited from the rhythmic element of poetry where it means the number of lines in a verse, the number of syllables in each line and the arrangement of those syllables as long or short, accented or unaccented...
, featuring drawn-out tone
Pitch (music)
Pitch is an auditory perceptual property that allows the ordering of sounds on a frequency-related scale.Pitches are compared as "higher" and "lower" in the sense associated with musical melodies,...
s and slowly-articulated ornamentation
Ornament (music)
In music, ornaments or embellishments are musical flourishes that are not necessary to carry the overall line of the melody , but serve instead to decorate or "ornament" that line. Many ornaments are performed as "fast notes" around a central note...
. Usually there is no harmony in the music. Pennsylvania spirituals are more modern, and include a wide variety of influences from African American
African American music
African-American music is an umbrella term given to a range of musics and musical genres emerging from or influenced by the culture of African Americans, who have long constituted a large and significant ethnic minority of the population of the United States...
and British music
British music
British music could refer to:* Music of the United Kingdom* English music* Irish music* Scottish music* Welsh music* Celtic music...
.
Although a few Amish learn to play traditional instruments, such as the harmonica
Harmonica
The harmonica, also called harp, French harp, blues harp, and mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used primarily in blues and American folk music, jazz, country, and rock and roll. It is played by blowing air into it or drawing air out by placing lips over individual holes or multiple holes...
or the accordion
Accordion
The accordion is a box-shaped musical instrument of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone family, sometimes referred to as a squeezebox. A person who plays the accordion is called an accordionist....
, instruments are not played in public. Thus, singing is usually unaccompanied. In church, singing is in German, but singing outside of church is sung in English. Singing is a major part of Amish churches and some songs take over fifteen minutes to sing. A song called Loblied is a well known Amish song. It is always the second song sung at an Amish church service and is often sung at Amish weddings.
"Sings" or "Singings," attended by young people approaching marriage-age, and usually held in barns on the Sunday evening after a worship service, are an essential element in Amish courting practices as the young participants are encouraged to engage in social discourse between songs.