THE SACRED HARP is the title of a hymnal (though traditionalists just call it a "song book") which was first published in 1844. The editor compiled several hundred pieces from a variety of "shape note" books already available (e.g. SOUTHERN HARMONY). Groups which continue this music still use THE SACRED HARP. We currently use the 1991 edition.

The music has its origins in 17th-century New England. Drawing upon and embellishing modal themes from English folk and liturgical music, composers cast familiar and new works in six part dispersed harmony (both men and women sing soprano--or treble--but an octave apart; same for tenor; women only sing alto; men only sing bass). The melody line is carried by the tenors, so the trebles are in a perpetual descant.

The music was composed for congregations with no accompanying instrument, so a shape note system was devised to teach congregations how to sight read. They used the regular treble and bass clefs, and the usual notation for quarter, half, whole. eighth (and so on) notes. The notes are assigned various shapes, however, in order to indicate pitch. Each of the shapes are sung as nonsense syllables during a singing to familiarize those who do not know the tune. The shapes, and the corresponding syllables are:

triangle fa
round sol
square la
diamond mi.

Fa, so and la are repeated twice in a scale. Mi is used only for the 7th. Thus, the c major scale would be:

c -- fa
d -- sol
e -- la
f -- fa
g -- sol
a -- la
b -- mi
c -- fa

If we were to write this out for the e major scale, e would be fa, and so forth. The minor scale always starts on la. Thus the a minor scale would be:

a -- la
b -- mi
c -- fa
d -- sol
e -- la
f -- fa
g -- sol
a -- la.


In the 18th century, congregations and groups of congregations would employ itinerant music teachers (who were given the title "professor") to teach people how to lead. The group would sit in a square (called the hollow square because of the space in the middle where the leader stood). Tenors face altos and trebles face basses. Each member of the class would take a turn leading. Before signing the words, the leader would pitch the opening note for each section (or a person with particularly good pitch in the group would do so) and the class would sing the shapes. This is essentially how singings take place today.

This music and method followed the routes of population flow in the 19th century and was found by the 1830s throughout the rural South and expanding West.

Today there are groups all over the country who continue this sort of music. Some meet weekly, some bi-weekly or monthly. Several conventions (usually two-day singings) are held throughout the country. The Chicago group, began about two decades ago when a small group of people associated with the Old Town School of Folk Music ran across some of the strange looking music, and tried to make sense of it. They quickly became addicts, went to a number of Southern singings (some of which are a century old), and brought the addiction back to Chicago, and thus was formed the Chicago Sacred Harp Association

I dropped in one fateful Sunday in early 1988, and left the singing having bought a copy of THE SACRED HARP ($15--a real bargain), and having been completely converted. This music grabbed me by my DNA. (I've since invested in the 1991 revision, and would no more think of tossing my earlier revision than I would parting with the family Bible.)

What is it that so many of us find haunting about the music? Some of it has to do with the modulation from major to minor chords within one piece, somewhat reminiscent of both English and Celtic folk traditions--actually quite like the modal music of all sorts of traditions. Some of it has to do with rawness and the power of the words--a no nonsense approach to life, death, sin, grace and redemption originally sung by people who had precious little control over their lives--particularly economically. An early frost, a flood, a drought could wipe away a life's savings. Their full reliance on God's grace comes through powerfully in the lyrics. Some of the appeal (for me) has to do with some ambiguity in the music. Often the harmonies are open fifths (e.g. c and g--hence there is no e or e-flat which would tell us whether we are hearing a major or minor chord). There is something ethereal about that ambiguity.

The best thing to do is to go to a singing, look at the music, or pick up a recording. There are more and more of them out there.