Sacred Harp singing is a type of sacred choral music that began in New England and continued in the American South. The name comes from The Sacred Harp, a significant shape-note music book first printed in 1844. Many later versions of this book have been used over time. Sacred Harp music started with singing schools that formed between 1770 and 1820 in New England and also developed later through religious revival meetings in the 1840s. This music became closely linked to books that used the shape-note style of writing music, which was popular in America during the 18th and early 19th centuries.

Sacred Harp music is sung a cappella, meaning only voices are used, with no instruments. It began as Protestant music. Today, the Sacred Harp tradition includes singers and events in the American South (where it first started) as well as in other parts of the United States and in several other countries, including the UK and Germany.

The music and its notation

The tradition's name comes from the book called The Sacred Harp, from which the music is sung. This book is still available today in many different editions, as explained below.

In shape-note music, notes are printed in special shapes that help readers recognize their positions on the musical scale. There are two common systems: one uses four shapes, and the other uses seven. The four-shape system used in The Sacred Harp connects each shape to a specific syllable: fa, sol, la, or mi. These syllables are used when singing, just like the more familiar system that uses do, re, mi, and so on (see solfege). The four-shape system covers all notes in the scale because each syllable-shape pair, except mi, is linked to two different notes. For example, in the C major scale, the notes would be sung as fa, sol, la, and mi.

In The Sacred Harp, the shapes and notes do not indicate exact pitches. Instead, they show positions within the scale. For a song in the key of C, fa represents both C and F. For a song in G, fa represents G and C, and so on. This is why the system is called a "moveable do" system.

When singers begin a song, they usually start by singing the syllables that match each note, using the shapes as a guide. For those who are not familiar with the song, the shapes help them read the music quickly. Singing through the song with the shapes also helps them remember the notes. After singing the syllables, the group then sings the verses of the song with the written words.

Singing Sacred Harp music

Sacred Harp groups sing without any instruments. This style is called a cappella. The singers sit in a square shape, with chairs or pews on each side assigned to four vocal parts: treble, alto, tenor, and bass. The treble and tenor sections often include both men and women singing notes that are an octave apart.

There is no single leader or conductor. Instead, participants take turns leading. The leader for a song chooses a song from the book and calls it by its page number. Leading is done with open palms, standing in the center of the square facing the tenors.

The pitch of the music is not fixed. At a singing event, one or more people are chosen as "keyers" to decide the starting pitch and sing it to the group. The singers then respond with the opening notes of their parts, and the song begins immediately. Leaders may also choose to set the key themselves if they are able.

The songs in Sacred Harp and similar books are mostly sacred music. They were originally created for Protestant Christians, though the singing tradition comes from singing schools, not church services. Many songs are hymns with familiar words and structures found in Protestant hymnody. However, other songs use different musical styles, such as fuguing tunes, which have sections where each vocal part enters one after another in a way similar to a fugue. These songs often use pentatonic scales or other scales with fewer notes. The harmony in Sacred Harp music often uses fourths and fifths instead of thirds, and the style is called "dispersed harmony."

Sacred Harp songs are divided into three main types. Many are ordinary hymn tunes, composed in four-bar phrases and sung in multiple verses. Fuguing tunes include a section where each vocal part enters in order, resembling a fugue. Anthems are longer songs with non-metrical text taken directly from scripture. They are sung once without repeating verses.

Sacred Harp singing differs from typical choral music in several ways. It is not usually rehearsed or performed for an audience. Singers participate for the experience, friendships, and community ties. Songs are sung in strict time without pauses. A key feature is the use of accents, where downbeats are sung louder than offbeats, creating a strong rhythmic feel. At large events, the singing is often loud, with singers using their full voices.

Although Sacred Harp relies on printed books, the singing style and customs are also passed down orally. Some singers adjust the music in ways not shown in the book, such as raising the 6th scale degree in minor songs or repeating sections not written in the book.

Sacred Harp music is taught in "singing schools" by members of the singing community. The book includes a section on music basics and Sacred Harp singing.

The most common book in the Sacred Harp tradition is The Sacred Harp: 2025 Edition, published by the Sacred Harp Publishing Company. David Ivey was the editor for this edition. This book is used at most major singing events, such as conventions and all-day singings. It is often called the "Denson Book" after the main editor of earlier editions. Work on this edition began in 2018, and the first public singing from it took place in September 2025. It has a green cover and replaces the 1991 edition, though some events still use the older version. Previous editions date back to 1911.

Another commonly used book is The Sacred Harp, Revised Cooper Edition (2012), known as the "Cooper Book" or "blue book." It shares many songs with the Denson Book but has a different history, starting with a 1902 revision. The Cooper Book includes more songs influenced by gospel music. In some areas, it is the primary book, while in others, it is used as a secondary option for variety.

Many Sacred Harp singers also use other tunebooks. These include older editions of The Sacred Harp, such as the J. L. White book (1911), and other historical books like The Missouri Harmony and Judge Jackson's Colored Sacred Harp. Seven-shape tunebooks, such as The Christian Harmony and Harmonia Sacra, and contemporary books like The Shenandoah Harmony (2013) are also used. These books have their own histories and communities, and many are still being revised.

Sacred Harp singing happens at special gatherings called "singings," not in church services. These events can be local, regional, statewide, or national. Small singings may have only a dozen singers, while large ones can have over a thousand participants. Larger events often include a potluck dinner, called "dinner on the grounds."

Some of the oldest and largest annual singings are called "conventions." The oldest is the Southern Musical Convention, started in Georgia in 1845. The two oldest surviving conventions are the Chattahoochee Musical Convention (1852) and the East Texas Sacred Harp Convention (1855).

Singings are open to anyone, not just members of an organization. Information about events is shared through word of mouth, social media, email lists, and publications like Sacred Harp Singings: Minutes and Directory, released yearly by the Sacred Harp Musical Heritage Association. Records of conventions and singings are also kept and published in this book and online.

History of Sacred Harp singing

Marini (2003) looks back to the earliest beginnings of Sacred Harp music, which came from "country parish music" in rural England during the early 1800s. This style of church music developed several key features that were passed down through traditions over time. These features included assigning the melody to the tenors, using harmonic structures that focused on fourths and fifths, and distinguishing between three types of music: the ordinary four-part hymn ("plain tune"), the anthem, and the fuguing tune. Composers from this tradition, such as Joseph Stephenson and Aaron Williams, are included in the 1991 Edition of The Sacred Harp. For more information about the English roots of Sacred Harp music, see West gallery music.

By the mid-1700s, the styles of English country parish music were brought to America, especially in a new tunebook called Urania, published in 1764 by singing teacher James Lyon. This influenced the creation of a strong American tradition of music composition, starting with the 1770 publication of William Billings’ The New England Psalm Singer. Billings and others who followed him created many new compositions. The work of these composers, known as the "First New England School," remains an important part of Sacred Harp music today.

Billings and his followers were singing masters who taught singing schools. These schools aimed to train young people in singing sacred music correctly. This teaching movement grew and led to the invention of shape notes, which were designed to make music instruction easier. The first shape note tunebook, The Easy Instructor, was published in 1801 by William Smith and William Little. At first, Smith and Little’s system competed with a rival system created by Andrew Law in his 1803 book, The Musical Primer. Although Law’s book was published later, he claimed he invented shape notes first. In his system, a square represented "fa," a circle "sol," a triangle "la," and a diamond "mi." Law used shape notes without a musical staff. Eventually, Smith and Little’s system became more widely used.

Shape notes became very popular, and many shape note tunebooks were published in the early 1800s. As people moved west and south, shape note singing spread across the country. Composers often used folk songs for inspiration. Before The Sacred Harp was published, the most successful shape note book was Southern Harmony, written by William Walker in 1835 and still used today.

As shape notes grew in popularity, they faced criticism from the "better music" movement, led by Lowell Mason, which promoted a more "scientific" style of sacred music based on European harmonic traditions. This new style gradually became more common. By the time of the Civil War, shape notes and their music had disappeared from cities and parts of the Northeast and Midwest. However, they remained strong in the rural South, where new shape note publications continued to be created.

Sacred Harp singing began with the 1844 publication of The Sacred Harp by Benjamin Franklin White and Elisha J. King. The editors of The Sacred Harp in the 19th century were from Georgia, and the book was printed in Philadelphia. This book, now available in many versions, became the shape note tradition with the most participants.

Benjamin Franklin White (1800–1879) was born in South Carolina but moved to Georgia in 1842. He worked with E. J. King (c. 1821–1844), from Georgia, to compile, transcribe, and compose over 250 songs for the book. King died shortly after the book was published, leaving White to guide its growth. White organized singing schools and conventions where The Sacred Harp was used as the songbook. During his lifetime, the book was revised three times (1850, 1859, and 1869) by committees including White and colleagues under the Southern Musical Convention. The 1869 edition expanded the book from 262 pages to 477 pages by removing some songs and adding new ones.

By the early 1900s, Sacred Harp singing faced a conflict over traditionalism. This led to a split in the community. White had died in 1879 before completing a fourth revision of the book, so by the turn of the century, the version of The Sacred Harp being used was over 30 years old. Meanwhile, the musical tastes of rural Southerners had changed. Gospel music, with its syncopated rhythms and chromatic melodies, and mainstream church hymns like "Rock of Ages" became popular. Seven-shape notation systems also gained followers, moving away from the older four-shape system. Over time, Sacred Harp singers realized their music had become distinct from modern styles.

To address this, some singers began to view Sacred Harp as a valuable tradition worth preserving for its historical value. However, disagreements arose about what the traditional version of Sacred Harp should look like.

In 1902, W. M. Cooper of Alabama, a respected Sacred Harp teacher, revised The Sacred Harp. While keeping most of the old songs, he added new tunes that reflected contemporary styles. Other changes included:
– Renaming songs based on their lyrics instead of arbitrary place names (e.g., "New Britain" became "Amazing Grace").
– Transposing some songs into new keys to better match performance practices.
– Writing new alto parts for songs that originally had only three vocal lines.

Cooper’s revision became widely used in areas like Florida, southern Alabama, and Texas, where it remains the main Sacred Harp book today. Cooper revised the book again in 1907 and 1909. His son-in-law published the book in 1927, including an appendix from a revision committee. The Sacred Harp Book Company was formed in 1949, and later revisions have been managed by the company.

Origins of the music

The music in Sacred Harp singing is varied. Most songs can be grouped into one of four historical periods.

The sound of this style, and parts of Sacred Harp music overall, can be understood by comparing different versions of the well-known hymn "Amazing Grace," which many Americans know in a form like this:

In The Sacred Harp (1991 edition), "Amazing Grace" is arranged differently. The melody, or "air," is sung by the tenor voice.

The 2025 Edition of The Sacred Harp includes some songs that do not fit into the four main historical periods. These include very old European songs (such as the shapenote version of "Old Hundred," 49t), songs from English rural traditions that influenced early New England composers, and a few songs by European classical composers (Ignaz Pleyel, Thomas Arne, and Henry Rowley Bishop). The book also includes five hymns by Lowell Mason, who was once a strong opponent of the tradition that Sacred Harp has preserved.

The above description refers to the 1991 and 2025 editions of The Sacred Harp, also called the Denson edition. The widely used 2012 "Cooper" edition shares many songs with the 1991 edition but also includes songs written after that date. A detailed comparison of these two editions was made by Sacred Harp scholar Gaylon L. Powell.

Other books with the titleSacred Harp

The Sacred Harp was a common name for several hymn and tune books from the 19th century, with four different books using this title. The first was created by John Hoyt Hickok and printed in Lewistown, Pennsylvania, in 1832. The second was made by Lowell and Timothy Mason and printed in Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1834. This book was part of the "better music" movement. The publisher released it as a shape note edition, but they also made a round note edition to reach a wider audience.

The third Sacred Harp was written by B. F. White and E. J. King and published in 1844. This book is the source of the modern Sacred Harp singing tradition.

According to W. J. Reynolds, as written in Hymns of Our Faith, a fourth Sacred Harp was published by J. M. D. Cates in Nashville, Tennessee, in 1867.