Shape note
Shape-note singing is an American tradition of sacred choral music that took root in the southern United States of America.
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2 Background 3 Varieties of shape note music 4 Resources 5 Footnote |
The idea behind the tradition is that the parts of a choral work can be learned more quickly and easily if the music is printed in shapes, corresponding to solfege syllables with which the notes of the musical scale are sung. Thus, for instance, in the shape note tradition of the Sacred Harp, the notes of a C major scale would be notated and sung as follows:
The syllables and notes are not tied to particular pitches (e.g. fa to C); rather, they depend on the key of the piece, so that the tonic note of the key always has the same syllable (here, fa), and similarly for the other notes of the scale. Some refer to this as a moveable "do" system.
The system above, for Sacred Harp music, is a "four shape" system. Other systems have existed as well, notably seven-shape systems that give a different shape and syllable to every note of the scale. Such systems use for syllables the traditional Italian scale "do, re, mi, fa, so, la, ti, do". In the seven-shape tradition, the notes of a C major scale would be notated and sung as follows:
American forerunners include the 9th edition of the Bay Psalm Book (Boston, USA), and An Introduction to the Singing of Psalm Tunes in a Plaine & Easy Method by Reverend John Tufts. The 9th edition of the Bay Psalm Book was printed with the initials of four-note syllables (fa, sol, la, me) underneath the staff. In his book, Tufts substituted the initials of the four-note syllables on the staff in place of note heads, and indicated rhythm by punctuation marks to the right of the letters.
At the beginning of the 19th century, two publications came out using a shaped note heads - The Easy Instructor by William Little and William Smith in 1801, and The Musical Primer by Andrew Law in 1803. Both followed similar principles, and the shapes used to represent the four syllables were the same (though the geometric shapes for fa and la were reversed). Law dispensed with the use of the staff altogether, while Little and Smith placed their note heads on a staff instead of the round or oval note heads. If Little and Smith's claim is correct, shape notes were invented around 1790 by John Connelly¹ of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, who they say say signed over the rights of his invention to them in 1798.
The idea of shape notes quickly gained in popularity, but by the middle of the 19th century, the system using four syllables was being overtaken by the seven syllable system. To meet this demand, music compilers began to add three more shapes to their books. Numerous seven-shape notations were devised. Jesse B. Aiken was the first to produce a book with a seven-shape note system, and he vigorously defended his "invention" and his patent. The system used in Aiken's 1846 Christian Minstrel eventually became the standard of the shape note music industry. This owes much to the influential Ruebush & Kieffer Publishing Company adopting his system around 1876. Two books that have remained in limited continuous use, William Walker's Christian Harmony and M. L. Swan's New Harp of Columbia, are still available with the seven-shape systems devised by Walker and Swan, respectively.
Shape notes have also been called character notes and patent notes, respectfully, and buckwheat notes, pejoratively.
The shape note tradition that currently has the greatest number of adherents is Sacred Harp music, discussed in its own Wikipedia article. But there are many other traditions, still existing, that sprang from the same roots. Among the four-shape systems, the Southern Harmony has remained in continuous use at one singing in Benton, Kentucky, and is now experiencing a small amount of growth. The present-day shape note revival has also brought about the institution of new singings from defunct books, such as the Missouri Harmony, as well as new books by modern composers, such as the Northern Harmony.
The "seven-note" system has a capella singings of a similar type to the Sacred Harp, such as the Christian Harmony and the New Harp of Columbia, but is also used in numerous "gospel" or "Southern gospel" singings where musical instruments are used (most often a piano). The participants in these gatherings sing old gospel songs like "Sweet By & By" and "Shall We Gather at the River". Although "seven-shape" books may not be as popular as in the past, there are still a great number of churches in the South that use hymnals that are printed in the "seven-note" system, both in church services and at singings. Singers at Christian Harmony and New Harp of Columbia singings usually "sing the notes", as is done at Sacred Harp singings. In gospel seven-shape note music, the notes (syllables) are normally only sung during the learning process at singing schools.
Shape notes
C fa triangle
D sol oval
E la rectangle
F fa triangle
G sol oval
A la rectangle
B mi diamond
C fa triangle
(The shapes may be viewed at http://www.originalsacredharp.com .)
When a song is first sung by the group, they use the syllables and shapes to help solidify their command over the notes. Later, they sing the same notes to the words of the music. C do equilateral triangle
D re half circle (half of a circle with a flat top)
E mi diamond (normal four-sided diamond)
F fa right-angle triangle
G sol oval
A la rectangle
B ti diamond (rounded top, as a baseball field diamond)
C do equilateral triangle
This and other seven-shape systems may be viewed at http://fasola.org/introduction/note_shapes.html.Background
The invention of shaped note heads may be considered an 18th century American invention, but the concept has roots in numerous attempts to simplify music reading. This may be seen in the work of Guido of Arezzo, the cipher notation of Jean Jacques Rousseau, and the tonic sol-fa of John Curwen.Varieties of shape note music
Resources
Books
External links
Footnote