David Lee called the sing back to order. ... This time, we held a one-time drone according to our tradition.  The last drone held here was in 1982, so there were many young people who had not seen and heard it.  After first moving all the chairs back out of the way, we assembled a small group of singers in the center of the room to sing bass, treble, and tenor.  Around them we had three circles of people, beginning with 5 men in a bass circle slowly walking counter-clockwise around the center group while holding the bass note.  The next circle out was about 10 treble singers walking clockwise while holding the note an octave above the bass note.  The outside circle was about 20 tenor singers walking counter-clockwise while holding the 5^th note above the bass note.  While the circles were slowly walking and droning their note, the group of seven singers in the center sang.  Taken from the January 20, 2001 Hoboken School Sing Minutes, Hoboken Sacred Harp Singing Community, Hoboken, Georgia

Above is a sample of a lesson at a Sacred Harp Singing School.  We found this entry in the 2001 minutes when we attended the 7^th Annual Hoboken, Georgia, All-Day Sacred Harp Sing in March of 2002. 

No experience is required to sing according to David Lee, our Hoboken host, who made us feel more than welcome. 

Promptly at 9:00 a.m., a remarkable volume and enthusiasm of harmonious voices echoed through the elementary school hall where the event was held.  Dynamics and the perfection of performance are not the focus as they are in choral singing.  Instead, the emphasis is on a powerful uniformity and rhythmic sound because this is a community wide sing composed of amateur contributors.  And the largest noontime potluck supper we've ever seen is certainly worthy of mention as well!

What Is Shape Note Singing?

Completely a cappella (no instrumental accompaniment), shape note singing is a non-denominational American folk music method of singing hymns and gospels songs from songbooks.  The music written in these books is comprised of four different shaped note heads, which indicate their position in the musical scale.    

The singers traditionally sit in a square.  They are sometimes called the "class,” and they divide themselves into alto, treble, bass and tenor with each group forming one side of the square, all facing inward.   This is often referred to as the "hollow” square.  Volunteers take turns standing in the center of the square and choosing and leading previously unsung songs.  Either he, she or someone with a strong natural voice does the "pitching,” using no instruments.  The leader then directs the songs with one hand moving up and down, keeping the beat.  Often, the singers can be seen doing this same motion.  Likewise, children can be the leaders, sometimes walking within the square in time to the music while one hand keeps the beat and the other holds the songbook.

Before the words to each song are sung, the groups harmonize together singing only the shape note names fa, so (sol), la, and mi.  This is often referred to as "fasola” singing.  This method serves to set the melody to memory and helps the participants more easily sight-read new music.

History

The roots of shape note singing extend back to the colonial period of American history.  The melodies of the songs have elements of Anglo-Celtic folk music and medieval and baroque European church music.  Singing schools began in New England as early as 1720.  In 1800, William Little and William Smith of Philadelphia devised a clever method of notating music through the use of shaped notes.  The musical scale was sung to the syllables "fa so la fa so la mi fa," not the "do re mi" syllables we use today.  Little and Smith assigned a triangular shaped note head to "fa," a round head to "so," a square head to "la," and a diamond head to "mi."               

Around 1810 as America grew more sophisticated, European religious music became popular, and shape note music was discouraged in the big cities.  Shape note singing remained only in rural areas of Georgia and Alabama until the 1930s when it began to spread into the northern and the Midwestern United States.  

Rediscovered by people who enjoy folk music as well as choral singing, the stark, rugged and always powerful sings are appreciated across the country if one is curious enough to do a little looking.  Besides all day sings, there are annual conventions, often lasting for two to three days.  They are held in one-room churches, in school cafeterias, in gymnasiums, wherever there is room to accommodate all participants.

What is The Sacred Harp?

The Sacred Harp is the title of one of the most popular four-shape note songbooks and was originally compiled in 1844 by Benjamin Franklin White and Elisha J. King.  It is still used in contemporary shape note singing.  The entire method of shape note singing is often, though incorrectly, called Sacred Harp singing.  Over the years, The Sacred Harp has been revised, the last time in 1991.  The word "harp” is a term meaning hymnal. 

Telling the tale of this wonderful music pales in comparison to hearing it.  Tapes and CDs are available, but the best thing to do is actually be there in person.  The next best thing is to sing along.  Go ahead.  Try it.  You'll love it!  Don't worry if you can't carry a tune.  The others who can will drown you out and you'll go home tired, but with the pleasant satisfaction of having spent the day doing something your ancestors may well have done and enjoyed as much as you did.

(Compiled with electronic permission by David Lee, Hoboken, Georgia, March 2002)

Update March 2005

There is no significant change other than a recipe or two, served in the wonderful mid-day pot luck prepared by local ladies and men, I'm sure, of the small, welcoming town of Hoboken.