Shape Note Music Traditions

To develop an appreciation of the tradition's diversity, one might begin with a review of shapenote song books; Sacred Harp, Christian Harmony, and the Vaughn-Stamp Baxter gospel style paperback.

Sacred Harp singers sing from three Sacred Harp tune book versions. These include the Sacred Harp White book, Sacred Harp Cooper book, and the Sacred Harp Denson book. Like the Sacred Harp, The Chrisitan Harmony song book has two distinctive versions; the William Walker and the Deason-Paris books.

The Vaughn-Stamp Baxter gospel style tradition uses a seven shape scale with songs written in a hymnal style song book rather than the open ender hard back books used in the Sacred and Christian Harmony traditions. Other distinctive songbooks within the tradition are The Colored Sacred Harp, The Missouri Harmony and the Cayce Good Songs.

Each tradition has been influenced by its community. Over the years, singers have developed particular and practices styles which vary from one place to the next.

Factors within the singing communities have also contributed to the diversity among singers. Differences in: songbook editions and authors, tempo preferences, word enunciations, personalities, culture and race, and different regions of the country have all had an impact on the development of the tradition in some way or another.

Whereas these differences may present challenges for some, the truth is, the shapenote tradition needs supporters and singers in every genre. Just as no two people are alike, no two singing communities are alike. There are always going to be similarities and differences.

The good news in the diversity lies in a common factor among all the genres, singers and supporters love the tradition. Hopefully it will be our love and committment to the music that will unite singers in the efforts to preserve and revive it.

The Shapenote Singing at the Ozark Folk Center directed by Charley Sandage in Mountain View, Arkansas combines all of the above listed genres. Singers simply move from one tradition to the next with every one singing from all the genres. Where I grew up,this would have been unheard of.

Dr. Warren Steele, professor and musicologist, at the University of Mississippi brings together Sacred Harp singers from different backgrounds for Sacred Harp Singings in Oxford. Singers attend from North Mississippi where transposing is prevelant, Alabama which is known for its faster tempos, as well as other regions from across the country.

Connie Stanton of Portland Oregon attending the Sacred Harp Singing in Oxford in 2003.

With our declining numbers, I believe we must embrace all of the shape note music genres. After all, there is strength in numbers and both men have done excellent work in bringing together singers from different backgrounds.

Fortunately, for those of us in the Colored Sacred Harp State Convention, the shapenote music diversity had a positive impact. In some way or another we were connected to all of the genres unbeknownst to us.