Timeline of Music in The United States To 1819 - 1803

1803

• Publisher Andrew Law begins to publish in shape notes, with the publication of the fourth edition of The Musical Primer. His system had been copyrighted, but was beat by William Little and William Smith's The Easy Instructor, which used a slightly different system and quickly became the standard for American shape note singing.
• After the Louisiana Purchase, Etienne de Boré, the Mayor of New Orleans, is tasked with appointing a location for slaves to dance on Sundays; the place chosen will eventually be known as Congo Square.
• The earliest full description of the African American Pinkster day holiday comes from a poem published in Albany, New York.
• The earliest extant orchestral score for an American opera known to exist is The Voice of Nature by William Dunlap and Victor Pelissier, composed in this year.