<P> The usage of music in Puritan religious meetings developed and evolved over time . According to the anthology America's Musical Life by Dr. Richard Crawford, up until the late 16th century, the Puritans picked up the use of The Whole Booke of Psalmes, Collected into Englishe Meter as hymns to compliment the sermons . These hymns from the Old Version of the psalm hymns put the words of the Old Testament Psalms into musical meters that allowed the Puritans to sing the scriptures, which was considered as service to the Lord, not an art form at this point . When this sort of "psalm singing" was brought to the American continent, general historians believe that it provided a basis for an "indigenous musical life" for the New World . </P> <P> In the late sixteenth century, a new psalm book by the name of The Whole Booke of Psalmes Faithfully Translated into English Meter was published which rearranged the words of the psalms to more aesthetically pleasing meters and tunes . With this new psalm book came a new method of singing, called "singing by note" which called for a lead singer and familiar melodies, both of which made the practice of congregational singing more individualized and personable . This alteration caused contention among the Puritans because the new hymn book broke from the Puritan societal norms . It began the transformation of the church practices within the Puritan lifestyle for the purpose of enhancing musical ability . </P> <P> There was no Puritan view against beauty in the arts, and therefore no objection to visual fineries; however, the pragmatism intrinsic to the Puritan mindset limited the amount of art produced in the Americas . The practical activities of life generally outweighed any sort of extravagance in the Puritan community . Aside from embellishments on buildings and small decorations in the home, however, paintings also surfaced during the era that the Puritans occupied the land . The Freake paintings by the Freake - Gibbs painter as well as Captain Thomas Smith's self - portrait each represent a Puritan and therefore show Puritan involvement in blatantly visual arts . Aside from the rare paintings as mentioned above, Puritan women created handicrafts . </P> <P> There is very little documentation of any sort of sports in general Puritan lifestyle . The Puritan doctrine advocated a life intent on avoiding idle action . The Puritans placed significant emphasis on the value of work and saw it as a duty to the Lord as his chosen people to spend all time productively . Distraction from that narrow lifestyle was seen as a vice . Sport was often considered a form of leisurely or idle activity, and therefore a vice . This prevented sport flourishing in the American colonies among the Puritans . </P>

A historian is attempting to study how the puritans affected society in new england