What is Sacred Harp Singing?
Sacred Harp singing is a participatory tradition of unaccompanied four-part vocal harmony that uses a distinctive system of shape notation to teach sight-reading. The tradition developed in New England and perpetuated in the American South, deriving its name from The Sacred Harp, a songbook first published in 1844 by Benjamin Franklin White and Elisha J. King. The term “sacred harp” refers to the human voice—the musical instrument you were given at birth.
Unlike conventional choral music, Sacred Harp “singings” are not performances. There are no rehearsals and no separate seats for an audience. Participants arrange themselves in a hollow square—one voice part per side, facing inward—and take turns leading songs from the center. The music is sung a cappella, with no instrumental accompaniment. Each song is first sung using the syllables of the four shape notes (fa, sol, la, mi) before singing the words.
Origins & Lineage
The earliest roots of Sacred Harp trace to the “country parish music” of early 18th century England, a form of rural church music that evolved distinctive traits including assignment of melody to the tenors, harmonic structure emphasizing fourths and fifths, and the distinction between plain tune, anthem, and fuguing tune.
The 1770 publication of William Billings’s The New England Psalm Singer signaled the development of a robust native school of composition. Billings and his followers worked as singing masters who led singing schools. The purpose of these schools was to train young people in the correct singing of sacred music. This pedagogical movement flourished and led ultimately to the invention of shape notes.
William Little and William Smith published the Easy Instructor in 1801. Their shape-note system was designed to teach sight-reading and enable users to sing complex, sophisticated music. The four-shape system assigned a right triangle for fa, a circle for sol, a square for la, and a diamond for mi.
The Sacred Harp came into being with the 1844 publication of Benjamin Franklin White and Elisha J. King’s The Sacred Harp. The editors of The Sacred Harp in the 19th century were Georgians; the book itself was typeset and printed in Philadelphia. B. F. White (1800–1879) was originally from Union County, South Carolina, but since 1842 had been living in Harris County, Georgia. E. J. King, (c. 1821–44), was from Talbot County, Georgia. Together they compiled, transcribed, and composed tunes, and published a book of over 250 songs. King died soon after the book was published.
The oldest layer of music comes from 18th century New England and represents work of composers such as William Billings and Daniel Read. A second layer comes from the decades around 1830, following the migration of the shape note tradition to the rural South. Many of the songs in this layer are believed to be originally secular folk tunes, harmonized in parts and given religious lyrics.
How It’s Practiced
At a Sacred Harp singing, singers sit in a hollow square formation with one voice part on each side, all facing inwards so they can see and hear each other. Singers (referred to as “the class”) sit in a hollow square facing each other. The “arranging committee” announces in turn names of singers who wish to lead songs (“lessons”) of their choice in the center of the square. Each leader chooses a song that has not already been sung (“used”) that day.
The pitch at which the music is sung is relative; there is no instrument to give the singers a starting point. At a given singing event, one or more people are designated “keyers”; they are responsible for choosing the key at which the song will be sung and intoning it to the group.
Singers first sing the shapes, or syllables for the notes of their parts, and then the words. This practice of “singing the notes” before singing the lyrics is a defining characteristic of the tradition. The music is characterized by melody lines in the tenor part, strong rhythms, and open harmonies (particularly fifth intervals without the third note). Many songs are in minor or modal scales and gapped scales. Each part (treble, alto, tenor or lead, and bass) retains a degree of melodic independence (“dispersed harmony”) which, while creating some dissonance, produces a beautiful perception of multiple simultaneous melodies.
Sacred Harp Singing Today
Sacred Harp singing normally occurs not in church services, but in special gatherings or “singings” arranged for the purpose. Singings can be local, regional, statewide, or national. Small singings are often held in homes, with perhaps only a dozen singers. Large singings have been known to have more than a thousand participants. The more ambitious singings include an ample potluck dinner in the middle of the day, traditionally called “dinner on the grounds”.
The oldest Sacred Harp convention was the Southern Musical Convention, organized in Upson County, Georgia in 1845. The two oldest surviving Sacred Harp singing conventions are the Chattahoochee Musical Convention (organized in Coweta County, Georgia in 1852), and the East Texas Sacred Harp Convention (organized as the East Texas Musical Convention in 1855).
There are now strong Sacred Harp singing communities in most major urban areas of the United States, and in many rural areas. One of the first groups of singers formed outside the traditional Southern home region was in the Chicago area. The first Illinois convention was held in 1985. Throughout much of the 20th century, Sacred Harp singing traditions were maintained inconspicuously in the South mostly by certain singing families, but since the 1980s the joy of singing shape-note music has been discovered by lovers of folk and choral music outside the South.
The most common tunebook in the Sacred Harp tradition is The Sacred Harp: 2025 Edition, published by the Sacred Harp Publishing Company. This book is used as the principal or only book at the majority of major singing events (known as “conventions” and “all-day singings”).
Common Misconceptions
It’s not a performance art. Unlike choral concerts, Sacred Harp singing has no audience/performer divide. Everyone present is invited to sing or listen from within the square. There are no auditions, rehearsals, or professional standards.
The “harp” is not an instrument. Despite the name, no harps or any instruments are used. The term refers metaphorically to the human voice.
It’s not denominationally affiliated. By the express intention of the original compiler, B. F. White, the songs are meant to be compatible with any denomination. The singing schools exist as a social and religious institution separate from any formal denominational support. All events welcome beginners and newcomers, with no musical experience or religious affiliation required. Though Sacred Harp is not affiliated with any denomination, it is a deeply spiritual experience for all involved.
It’s not archaic reenactment. Participants are not concerned with re-creating or re-enacting historical events. The tradition is a living, breathing, ongoing practice passed directly to us by generations of singers. There are dozens of living composers still actively writing new tunes within the traditional styles.
It doesn’t sound like church choir music. The harmonic language emphasizes open fourths and fifths, modal scales, and “dispersed harmony” where each part maintains melodic independence. The result is powerful, often loud, and harmonically raw compared to European-influenced church music.
How to Begin
The most direct path into Sacred Harp singing is attending a local singing. See fasola.org for singings schedules and a Beginner Guide. Most communities hold regular monthly singings, and newcomers are welcomed without musical training or advance notice.
Listeners may attend and observe from outside the square. Those wishing to sing choose a voice part (bass, tenor, alto, or treble) and sit with that section. Experienced singers will share their books and help beginners follow along.
All-day singings and conventions—typically held on Saturdays or “fifth Sundays”—offer the fullest experience, including the communal potluck meal at midday. The Sacred Harp Musical Heritage Association publishes an annual directory of singings nationwide.
For solitary study, recordings from fasola.org, the Smithsonian Folkways album Fasola: 53 Shape-Note Folk Hymns, and the 2007 documentary Awake, My Soul: The Story of the Sacred Harp provide sonic and visual documentation of the tradition.