Andrew Law was an American composer

Composer

A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...

, preacher

Preacher

Preacher is a term for someone who preaches sermons or gives homilies. A preacher is distinct from a theologian by focusing on the communication rather than the development of doctrine. Others see preaching and theology as being intertwined...

 and singing teacher. He was born in Milford, Connecticut

Milford, Connecticut

Milford is a coastal city in southwestern New Haven County, Connecticut, United States, located between Bridgeport and New Haven. The population was 52,759 at the 2010 census...

. Law wrote mostly simple hymn tune

Hymn tune

A hymn tune is the melody of a musical composition to which a hymn text is sung. Musically speaking, a hymn is generally understood to have four-part harmony, a fast harmonic rhythm , and no refrain or chorus....

s, and arranged tunes of other composers. His works include Select Harmony (1778) and a Collection of Best Tunes and Anthems (1779). He was among the first American composers to put the melody in the soprano instead of the tenor part, and was also one of the first Americans to write about music. Andrew Law also pioneered the FASOLA system of musical notation that simplified lessons in reading music during the Singing School era of New England music. He published Essays on Music in 1814. He died in 1821.