Abbreviations and initialisms have long been used when writing about shape-note tunebooks—whether as convenient shorthand among singers (“See you at the NSVAD!”) or as concise references in scholarship and editorial work. My own system draws on several sources, but one of the most influential precedents comes from George Pullen Jackson, whose writings helped standardize how these books were cited and discussed.
What follows are the abbreviation lists from several of Jackson’s works on shape-note music, showing both his method and the considerable overlap among them.
White Spirituals in the Southern Uplands by George Pullen Jackson (1933).
BH – Baptist Hymn and Tune Book
CM – Christian Minstrel
CO (COH) – Columbian Harmony
DIT – Thirty-six South Carolina Spirituals (Diton)
DT – Religious Folk-Songs of the Negro (Dett)
FIS – Seventy Negro Spirituals (Fisher)
FK – Story of the [Fisk] Jubilee Singers (Marsh)
GCM – Genuine Church Music
GOS – Good Old Songs
GRIS – Negro Sings a New Heaven (Grissom)
HH – Hesperian Harp
HO (HOC) – Harp of Columbia
JH, 1 – Book of American Negro Spirituals (Johnson)
JH, 2 – Second Book of American Negro Spirituals (Johnson)
KN (KNH) – Knoxville Harmony
KR (KRE) – Afro-American Folk-Songs (Krehbiel)
KYH – Kentucky Harmony
MEL – Mellows (Kennedy)
MOH – Missouri Harmony
OD – Negro and His Songs (Odum and Johnson)
OL – Olive Leaf
OSH (OS) – “Original” Sacred Harp
PB – Primitive Baptist Hymn and Tune Book
SAH – Sacred Harp
SCA (SC) – On the Trail of the Negro Folk-Songs (Scarborough)
SK (SKH) – Supplement to the Kentucky Harmony
SO (SOH) – Southern Harmony
SOC (SOCH) – Social Harp
SS – Slave Songs of the United States (Allen, Ware, Garrison)
TZ – Timbrel of Zion
UH – Union Harmony
VH – Virginia Harmony
WES – Wesleyan Hymn and Tune Book
WH – American Negro Folk-Songs (White)
WK – Folk Songs of the American Negro (Work)
WP – Western Psalmodist
Spiritual Folk-Songs of Early America by George Pullen Jackson (1937).
BHTBK – Baptist Hymn and Tune Book, 1857
BS – Bible Songs (DeWitt)
CH – Church Harmony (Smith)
CHH – Christian Harmony (Walker)
CHI – Christian Harmony (Ingalls)
COH – Columbian Harmony (Moore)
CSH – Sacred Harp, 1902 (Cooper)
DT – Religious Folk-Songs of the Negro (Dett)
GCM – Genuine Church Music (Funk)
GOS – Good Old Songs (Cayce)
HH – Hesperian Harp (Hauser)
HOC – Harp of Columbia (Swan)
JAFL – Journal of American Folk-Lore
JFSS – Journal of the [English] Folk-Song Society
KYH – Kentucky Harmony (Davisson)
KNH – Knoxville Harmony (Jackson)
MHTBK – Methodist Hymn and Tune Book, 1889
MOH – Missouri Harmony (Carden)
OL – Olive Leaf (Hauser)
OSH – Original Sacred Harp (James)
PB – Primitive Baptist Hymn and Tune Book (Daily)
REV – Revivalist (Hillman)
SCB – South Carolina Ballads (Smith)
SH – Sacred Harp, 1844 (White and King)
SKH – Supplement to the Kentucky Harmony (Davisson)
SMM – Scots Musical Museum (Johnson)
SOC – Social Harp (McCurry)
SOG – Songs of Grace (Lorenz and Baltzell)
SOH – Southern Harmony (Walker)
SS – Slave Songs of the United States (Allen, Ware, and Garrison)
SWP – Southern and Western Pocket Harmonist (Walker)
TZ – Timbrel of Zion (Collins)
UH – Union Harmony (Caldwell)
UHH – Union Harmony (Hendrickson)
UHP – Union Harp and History of Songs (James)
VH – Virginia Harmony (Carrell)
WH – Western Harmony (Carden, Rogers, Moore, and Green)
WP – Western Psalmodist (Johnson)
WS – White Spirituals in the Southern Uplands (Jackson)
Down-East Spirituals and Others by George Pullen Jackson (1939)
BB Old Songs Hymnal (Bolton and Burleigh)
BS Bible Songs (DeWitt)
CH Church Harmony (Smith)
CHH Christian Harmony (Walker)
CHI Christian Harmony (Ingalls)
CL Christian Lyre (Leavitt)
COH Columbian Harmony (Moore)
DH Delaware Harmony (Fobes)
FH Federal Harmony (Benham)
FHA Folk Hymns of America (Buchanan)
GH Golden Harp (Henry)
GOS Good Old Songs (Cayce)
IHH Hesperian Harp (Hauser)
HOC Harp of Columbia (Swan)
HSM Harp of the South (Mason)
JAFL Journal of American Folk-Lore
JDSS Journal of the (English) Folk Dance and Song Society
JFSS Journal of the (English) Folk Song Society
JIFS Journal of the Irish Folk Song Society
JWF Journal of the Welsh Folk Song Society
KNH Knoxville Harmony (Jackson)
LZ Lute of Zion (Woodbury)
MH Millennial Harp (Himes)
MHL Methodist Hymnal (1935)
MOH Missouri Harmony (Carden)
MQ Musical Quarterly
OL Olive Leaf (Hauser and Turner)
OSH Original Sacred Harp (James)
PB Primitive Baptist Hymn and Tune Book (Daily)
REV Revivalist (Hillman)
RHD Revival Hymns (Day)
SAM Sacred Melodeon (Hayden)
SFQ Southern Folklore Quarterly
SH Sacred Harp (White and King)
SHD Original Sacred Harp (Denson Revision)
SKH Supplement to the Kentucky Harmony (Davisson)
SOC Social Harp (McCurry)
SOG Songs of Grace (Lorenz and Baltzell)
SOH Southern Harmony (Walker)
SWP Southern and Western Pocket Harmonist (Walker)
UH Union Harmony (Caldwell)
UHH Union Harmony (Hendrickson)
UHP Union Harp (James)
USH United States Harmony (Carden)
UVW University of Virginia Collection of Folk-Music (Wilkinson)
VH Virginia Harmony (Carrell)
VSM Virginia Sacred Musical Repository (Boyd)
WH Western Harmony (Carden)
WHM Wesleyan Harp (Merrill and Brown)
White and Negro Spirituals by George Pullen Jackson (1943).
BB Old Songs Hymnal, Bolton and Burleigh, 1929
BM Befo’ de War Spirituals, McIlhenny, 1933
BS Bible Songs, De Witt, 1865
CFQ California Folklore Quarterly
CH Church Harmony, Smith, 1834
CHH Christian Harmony, Walker, 1866
CHI Christian Harmony, Ingalls, 1805
CL Christian Lyre, Leavitt, 1831-1832
COH Columbian Harmony, Moore, 1835
DES Down-East Spirituals, Jackson, 1943
DH Divine Hymns, Smith, 1794
DRM Revival Melodies, Dadmun, 1859
EH Evangelical Harp, Knapp, 1845
FHA Folk Hymns of America, Buchanan, 1938
FW Fisk Jubilee Songs, White, 1872
GOS Good Old Songs, Cayce, 1913
HF Hampton Cabin and Plantation Songs, Fenner, 1874
IHH Hesperian Harp, Hauser, 1848
HOC Harp of Columbia, Swan, 1848
JAFL Journal of American Folk-Lore
JDSS Journal of the (English) Folk Dance and Song Society
JFSS Journal of the (English) Folk Song Society
JIFS Journal of the Irish Folk Song Society
JW American Negro Songs, John Work, 1941
JWFS Journal of the Welsh Folk Song Society
KNH Knoxville Harmony, Jackson, 1838
KYH Kentucky Harmony, Davisson, 1815(?)
LLO Hymns, Lloyd, 1811
MH Millennial Harp, Himes, 1843
MOH Missouri Harmony, Carden, 1820
OFS Our Familiar Songs, Johnson, 1881, 1896
OL Olive Leaf, Hauser and Turner, 1878
OSH Original Sacred Harp, James, 1911
PB Primitive Baptist Hymn and Tune Book, Daily, 1902
PM Plantation Melodies, Taylor, 1883
PTFLS Publications of the Texas Folk-lore Society
RHD Revival Hymns, Day, 1842
RMK Revival Melodies, dedicated to Knapp, 1842
SAS Sacred Songs, Hastings and Mason, 1842
SFS Spiritual Folk-Songs of Early America, Jackson, 1937
SFQ Southern Folklore Quarterly
SH Sacred Harp, White and King, 1844 et seq.
SHD Sacred Harp, Denson revision, 1936
SKY Supplement to the Kentucky Harmony, Davisson, 1820
SOC Social Harp, McCurry, 1855
SOG Songs of Grace, Lorenz and Baltzell, 1879
SOH Southern Harmony, Walker, 1835
SS Slave Songs, Allen, 1867
SSB Spiritual Song Book, Mintz, 1805
SWP Southern and Western Pocket Harmonist, Walker, 1845
TCL Tune Comparative List in this volume
UCH Union Choral Harmonie, Eyer, 1839
UH Union Harmony, Caldwell, 1837
UHH Union Harmony, Hendrickson, 1848
UHP Union Harp, James, 1909
USH United States Harmony, Carden, 1829
VH Virginia Harmony, Carrell, 1831
WHC Western Harmony, Carden, 1824
WHP Wesleyan Harp, Merrill and Brown, 1834
WPS Wesleyan Psalmist, Scudder, 1843
WS White Spirituals in the Southern Uplands, Jackson, 1933
ZH Zion’s Harp, anon, 1830s
Another Sheaf of White Spirituals by George Pullen Jackson (1952)
There are only five titles abbreviated in this book, and they are for his own books, so it is not useful for this project.
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