COME JOIN US FOR 
SHAPE-NOTE SINGING!


We meet on the
2nd & 4th Mondays of every month 
7:00-8:30pm  
 
University Mennonite Church 
1606 Norma Street 
State College, PA
    
Upcoming singings:
    May 27, June 10, June 24, July 8

Beginners may come at 6:45pm for
an introduction to shape-note singing.
No experience necessary and all are welcome!
Shape-note singing is a tradition that’s been vibrant since the days when Kentucky was the frontier!  In the America of the early 1800's, tunebooks were a popular way to convey new music to the general public. The tunebooks contained collections of popular folk hymns and spiritual songs written down using a special musical notation to help musically untrained people to learn to sing parts . The songs were written on musical staffs with shaped note heads -- diamonds, circles, squares, and triangles -- to indicate relative pitch on a scale. A singing tradition grew up around these books, especially in the rural South where singings from “The Sacred Harp” (1844) became wildly popular.  
Click below to watch the trailer for the film 
"Awake My Soul: The Story of the Sacred Harp"
In the Sacred Harp tradition, singers arrange themselves in parts, facing inward in a hollow square formation, singing for each other and not an audience. The music is full of unusual and distinct harmonies, and is usually sung loudly and vigorously.  Shape-note singing places more emphasis on group participation and less on individual musical ability.  In recent years, it has experienced a resurgence of popularity across the country.
Click below to watch a video on shape-note singing in the Pacific Northwest
You are invited to join us on the second and fourth Mondays of the month to participate in and experience this uniquely egalitarian and distinctly American musical tradition!
And don't forget, our BIG ANNUAL WEEKEND of all-day singing is coming up Saturday July 27th and Sunday July 28th.  Click here for all the information!
For more information about the State College local singing, contact Hal Kunkel   hal.kunkel@gmail.com
For information on singings in other parts of the state, visit  www.pennsylvaniasacredharp.com.
To hear recordings from our 2010 Central Pennsylvania All-Day Sacred Harp Singing, click here.
For information on the history of the Sacred Harp, go to the great article on Wikipedia.
For information on locations of other shape-note singings in the country go to fasola.org
To hear historic field recordings by Alan Lomax from the 1959 Alabama State Sacred Harp Convention, 
click here and type "sacred harp" in Keyword Search box.
Directions to our Local 
Monday Singings
University Mennonite Church
1606 Norma Street, State College, PA