shape-note singing: Definition from Answers.com

U.S. a cappella singing style incorporating many folk hymns and utilizing a special musical notation. The seven-note scale used by some singers is sung not to the syllables do-re-mi-fa-sol-la-ti but to a four-syllable system brought to America by early English colonists: fa-sol-la-fa-sol-la-mi. The system reflects the fact that a series of three intervals repeats itself in the major scale. A differently shaped note head is used for each of the four syllables. The singer reads the music by following the shapes; singers unfamiliar with the system can read the notes according to their placement on the staff. The tradition started in New England and moved South and West as more sophisticated forms of music reached the U.S. Shape-note singing had largely died out except in rural areas by the 1880s, but it has experienced a revival in recent years. The traditional shape-note hymnal, The Sacred Harp, first published in 1844, remains in use today.

For more information on shape-note singing, visit Britannica.com.

	Sacred Harp Singing (1998 Album by Alabama Sacred Harp Singers)
	Christmas Carols from English Pubs (1999 Album by Various Artists)
	Social Harp (Early American Shape Note Songs) (1990 Album by Hugh McGraw)

	How do you get better at singing different notes as I am good at singing but I sing the wrong notes.? Read answer...
	What are the notes for the hymn 'Sing Hosanna'? Read answer...
	How can you sing a low note? Read answer...

	The Sacred Harp book 1991 edition is well known in the shape note singing tradition. There are also 'Christmas Harp' songs in the same Shape Note tradition. Where when can I get copies of a these?
	The shape of the whole note?
	How do you sing high notes?

		Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. Read more
		Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. © 2006 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. All rights reserved. Read more