Joseph Friedrich Bernhard Caspar Majer

Joseph Friedrich Bernhard Caspar Majer (16 October 1689, Schwäbisch Hall – 22 May 1768, Schwäbisch Hall), was a German musician from the beginning of the 18th century, a "significant writer" on music in the late Baroque era.^[1]

Museum Musicum Theoretico-Practicum, by Joseph Friedrich Bernhard Caspar Majer. Title page.

He was a singer at Schwäbisch Hall, an organist and cantor at St. Katharina, and author of two books, music methods:

• 1718, Hodegus musicus. Teaches singing. A later edition published Schwäbisch Hall by Georg M. Majer, 1741.^[2]

• 1732, Museum musicum theoretico-practicum. The author advertised on the title page that readers would learn how to thoroughly learn both vocal and instrumental music) (1732).^[3] A second edition came out in 1741.^[3]

His second book was written to acquaint would-be musicians with information to help them learn to play instruments. The instruments included: recorder, chalumeau, transverse flute, 3-keyed bassoon, cornett, flageolet, and 2-keyed clarinet, clarion trumpet, tenor and bass trombone, alto and quint trombone, horn, lute, "harp" or psaltery, guitar, timpani, violin, viola, cello, viola de gamba and viola d'amore.^[3] The book also includes the basics for reading music, a "survey of vocal music and intervals," and a dictionary of musical terms. ^[3][4]

What made him to be considered a significant writer was the annotations that he made in his personal copy of Museum musicum theoreticalo-practicum.^[1] That city reside in the Württembergische Landesbibliothek, Stuttgart.^[3]

• 
  Tenor Bass Recorder
• 
  Chalumeau
• 
  Transverse flute
• 
  Bassoon
• 
  Flageolet
• 
  Two-key clarinet
• 
  Two-key clarinet (1)
• 
  Clarion
• 
  Fingering chart, cornett
• 
  Tuning the lute, fretboard
• 
  Lute, strings, their notes placed
• 
  Psaltery