The Northumberland Garland
During the 18th century, sheet music often contained a title page or cover page. There was a change in the stylistic qualities of music produced during this time, resembling earlier illuminated manuscripts. The Northumberland garland: or Newcastle nightingale: a matchless, collection of famous songs, is a prime example of this. This book contains a title page that shows a scene with two shields being laid against a tree, accompanied by the vital information for the book. The publication of music became highly stylized during the progression of the publication of music books. The term sheet music began to mean the physical notation of music. While sheet music existed in Europe and there was a long-standing tradition of writing down compositions the term “sheet music” did not develop until written composition existed in the United States. Because there was a large number of musically illiterate in the general public, song books that only contained lyrics were a way for music to be performed by choirs. These were often ballads and were sold and distributed in large quantities as well.