German composer. He made such rapid progress in his lessons with his father, Johann Staden, that in December 1620 the Nuremberg town council funded his lessons with Jakob Paumann in Augsburg. When he returned to Nuremberg in 1623, he was granted an expectant's salary and became a city instrumentalist. In 1634 he was given the additional appointment of organist of St. Lorenz; he retained these two posts in Nuremberg for the rest of his life. Staden published only two books of vocal music, comprising forty-seven works, and a number of strophic songs. His singspiel Seelewig(1644), is the earliest extant example of the genre.