The podcast How Can I Keep From Singing?, hosted by educator and community-singing advocate Stuart Stotts, explores the enduring role of participatory singing across a wide range of traditions. Through interviews with practitioners, scholars, and organizers, the series consistently highlights singing not as performance, but as a lived, communal practice embedded in culture and everyday life.
In the recent episode on shape-note singing, musicologist Esther Morgan-Ellis presents the tradition with both clarity and enthusiasm, outlining its structure, historical continuity, and—most importantly—its participatory ethos. The discussion situates Sacred Harp and related practices within a broader global context of communal music-making, emphasizing how such traditions persist because they actively create and sustain social bonds.
This episode stands out for its clear and measured presentation, offering an accessible overview without losing sight of the tradition’s participatory nature. As shape-note singing continues to reach new audiences, this kind of thoughtful introduction helps convey not just the sound, but some of the context and practices that shape it. In that sense, it serves as a useful example of how the tradition can be shared beyond its usual circles while still retaining its character.
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