Hundreds of volumes filled with hand-copied music sit in archives and libraries across the United States. Created by amateur musicians who came of age in the years following the American Revolution. These manuscript books reveal the existence of a musical culture that was deeply intertwined in people's everyday lives and at the same time in powerful historical forces that were shaping the new nation. Cultivated by Hand is a social and material history of musical amateurism. It uncovers the influences that directed amateurs' experiences, delves into how those influences manifested in individuals' lives, and reveals the hitherto unknown importance of music book creation and collection in early American musical life.