Shape Note Singing

Shape note singing is an American sacred choral tradition in which singers read hymn tunes from tunebooks printed with shaped noteheads, triangles, squares, ovals and diamonds indicating scale degrees, so that untrained singers can sight-read four-part harmony. Practised at all-day singings where participants sit in a hollow square, each part facing inward, the tradition sings the repertory of books such as *The Sacred Harp* (1844) at full voice, without instruments or rehearsal, after first singing the shapes themselves. It remains strongest in the rural South and in a worldwide revival community.