Site navigation in English

Home - What is Sacred Harp Singing? - Sacred Harp on YouTube - Links

What is Sacred Harp Singing?

Sacred Harp singing is a powerful form of choral music with roots in Anglo-Celtic folksong and the community singing schools of early New England.

The music is sung in a hearty, full-voiced a cappella style in three and four-part harmony. It is intended primarily for the enjoyment of the singers themselves, and is not meant as a performance.

Although most of the music is set to traditional sacred poetry, all are welcome to take part, whatever their beliefs.

A vibrant, living tradition, Sacred Harp holds a unique place in the American musical landscape. It has been called “America’s oldest music,” yet has become more widespread in the past 30 years than at any time in history; attracting singers not only from the US and Canada, but from Australia and Europe as well.

Named after one of the American Hymnals "The Sacred Harp" that contains this type of music, Sacred Harp is also sometimes known as “shape note” or “fa-so-la.” This refers to the unique musical notation of The Sacred Harp and other early American songbooks, using shaped note heads to indicate intervals between notes. The four shaped heads each have a name - fa, so, la & mi - hence also 'shapenote', 'shaped note music' and 'fasola music'.

Major scale, using four shapes

This ingenious system was invented over 200 years ago, and has helped countless thousands of singers to read music since.

Click here for examples of Sacred Harp singing on YouTube.