shape-note singing

shape-note singing
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.

* * *


Universalium. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужен реферат?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Shape-Note Singing —    See Sacred Harp …   Historical dictionary of sacred music

  • Shape note — Star in the East from the 1854 edition of Southern Harmony Shape notes are a music notation designed to facilitate congregational and community singing. The notation, introduced in 1801, became a popular teaching device in American singing… …   Wikipedia

  • shape-note hymnal — ▪ music also called  patent note hymnal,  or  buckwheat note hymnal,         American hymnal incorporating many folk hymns and utilizing a special musical notation. The seven note scale was sung not to the syllables do–re–mi–fa–sol–la–ti but to a …   Universalium

  • List of shape-note tunebooks — Shape notes are a system of music notation designed to facilitate choral singing. Shape notes of various kinds have been used for over two centuries in a variety of sacred choral music traditions practiced primarily in the Southern region of the… …   Wikipedia

  • shape note — noun a system of music notation designed to facilitate choral singing …   Wiktionary

  • shape-notesinging — shape note singing (shāpʹnōt ) n. A traditional style of unaccompanied group singing using a sol fa notation in which the shape of the note indicates its pitch. Also called shape singing. * * * …   Universalium

  • Singing school — O, tell me young friends, while the morning s fair and cool,: O where, tell me where, shall I find your singing school.: You ll find it under the tall oak where the leaves do shake and blow,: You ll find a half hundred a singing faw, sol, faw …   Wikipedia

  • Singing — Sings and Vocals redirect here. For other uses, see Sings (disambiguation) and Vocals (disambiguation). Singer redirects here. For other uses, see Singer (disambiguation). Harry Belafonte 1954 Singing is the act of producing musical sounds with… …   Wikipedia

  • National Gospel Singing Convention — This article is a part in a series on Gospel music Roots and Beginnings  …   Wikipedia

  • Southwest Texas Sacred Harp Singing Convention — The Southwest Texas Sacred Harp Singing Convention is an annual gathering of shape note singers. Songs are sung a cappella from the Sacred Harp tunebook. The Convention was organized on April 28, 1900 at the Round Top School House, in Caldwell… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”