Toward a Typology of Four-Shape Shape-Note Tunebooks
In studying and cataloging four-shape shape-note tunebooks and tunebooklets, it is helpful to distinguish between three overlapping but distinct frameworks: historical period, editorial type, and lifecycle status. Each offers a different lens for understanding a publication’s origin, structure, and current use. Together, they form a typology that supports clearer thinking and communication about the diverse forms these books take within the Sacred Harp style tradition.
The phrase Sacred Harp style is used here as an umbrella term to describe the broader tradition associated with four-shape shape-note tunebooks and practices. While terms like “shape-note” or “Sacred Harp” are common, neither fully captures the diversity or cultural continuity of the tradition. Complicating matters further, some seven-shape tunebooks—such as The Christian Harmony and The New Harp of Columbia—also occupy a meaningful place in the shape-note diaspora and are used by communities closely aligned with Sacred Harp style practice.
The music associated with this tradition predates the use of shape-notes and has a rich, complex history, well documented by others more qualified than I. This project focuses on the print culture of shape-note singing, including digital-only works that emulate printed materials. It is limited to publications that, by my definition, qualify as tunebooks or tunebooklets: that is, works that serve as vehicles for tunes themselves, using the traditional four-shape notation introduced by Little and Smith.
The terms tunebook and tunebooklet are not rigid categories, but descriptive clusters. This project focuses primarily on the print culture of four-shape shape-note materials, but also includes digital works that emulate printed formats. If a digital resource clusters enough attributes that would otherwise define a tunebook or tunebooklet—editorial intent, scope, notational consistency—it should be included in bibliographic documentation. Conversely, digital-only works that do not cohere to those features may be better understood as a form of shape-note ephemera.
Kevin Isaac
July, 2025
I. Historical Periods
This system divides four-shape shape-note tunebooks according to when they were first compiled and published. These periods are defined by observable trends in publishing activity. While the primary focus here is on tunebooks, each historical period also reflects broader cultural currents—including developments in academic interest, sound recording technology, and community traditions—that intersect with the story of shape-note singing and music publishing. While this typology focuses on books, I wanted to recognize other forms of media that influenced the continuity and revival of Sacred Harp style singing during these same periods, one informs the history of the other.
1. Formative Period (1800–1859)
A time of prolific experimentation and innovation. Dozens of tunebooks were published using the four-shape notation system, many of which appeared in only one or two editions before falling into disuse. Key titles include The Easy Instructor (1801), Kentucky Harmony (1816), Southern Harmony (1835), and The Sacred Harp (1844). By the end of this period, several prominent figures began transitioning to seven-shape notation. Tunebooks from this era frequently borrowed—or outright copied—tunes from one another without attribution or permission, a practice that continues into the Contemporary Period. As a result, material from obscure or marginal tunebooks may be absorbed into widely used books that are actively revised today.
2. Traditional Period (1860–1959)
The outbreak of war in 1860 caused major disruptions to all aspects of American life, including book production and distribution. Shape-note singing remained active in many rural and frontier communities—particularly in the South—but the decline in new tunebook publishing was exacerbated by the fact that most printers specializing in tunebooks were located in the North. As a result, this period marked a clear transition from innovation to preservation.
A small number of books—particularly The Sacred Harp in its various revisions—remained in active use, while most earlier tunebooks fell out of circulation. During this time, Sacred Harp style culture crystallized. Of particular importance is the 1902 to 1911 span between when “Cooper Book” was released, and the “J.L.White Book” and the “James Book” editions came out. There was a bifurcation of singers largely into two camps (Cooper and James/Denson), with J.L.White’s work becoming very narrowly used and then dormant until a 2007 revival edition.
Regional minutes books began appearing in the 1920s–40s, leading to more centralized and standardized record-keeping by the 1950s. Regional minutes books began appearing in the 1920s–40s, leading to more centralized and standardized record-keeping by the 1950s. One rare exception in the Traditional Period, and in shape-note tunebook publishing, is The Colored Sacred Harp (1934), a new four-shape tunebook compiled within a distinct African-American singing community. During this time, scholars and ethnomusicologists—most notably George Pullen Jackson—began studying Sacred Harp singers, often referred to as “fasola folk,” bringing early academic attention to the tradition.
Between approximately 1922 and the 1950s, dozens of 78rpm records of shape-note music were released by mainstream labels such as Okeh, Gennett, Brunswick, and Columbia, as well as some smaller labels like Vaughan and Bluebird. The Library of Congress released a set of 78rpm records in 1943 as part of its Folk Music of the United States series, with Album 11 titled Sacred Harp Singing. This album was recorded by Alan Lomax at the 1942 Alabama Sacred Harp Singing Convention, with contributions from George Pullen Jackson, who collaborated on the project and provided scholarly expertise.
3. Revival Period (1960–1989)
A phase of rediscovery and preservation. This period coincided with the peak of the broader American folk music revival, which, in the preceding decades, had brought traditional musical forms—often drawn from rural and working-class communities—into academic, festival, and popular music contexts. While no new four-shape tunebooks are known to have been created during this time, several important facsimiles and reprints were issued, helping to reintroduce the traditions, developed in the preceding period, to new audiences.
Academic interest, folk-music crossover, and the spread of singings beyond the South defined this era. Hugh McGraw emerged as a leading proponent of Sacred Harp style music, earning recognition as an NEA National Heritage Fellow in 1982. Field recordings and long-playing (LP) records—including those by Alan Lomax and releases from the Sacred Harp Publishing Company and smaller labels—helped disseminate the sound and ethos of the tradition.
The Smithsonian Folk Life Festival featured Sacred Harp singers in both 1970 and 1983. In 1970, Southern singers from Georgia and Alabama were joined by African American “Wiregrass” singers from southeastern Alabama. In 1983, only the African American group returned, reflecting growing recognition of their distinctive cultural contributions.
From 1985 to 1993, the National Sacred Harp Newsletter served as a major communication tool among singers, effectively bridging the final years of the Revival Period and the beginning of the Contemporary Period. Over roughly that same time period there was an explosion of All-Day Singings in “new areas” of the country (see Bealle’s Appendix 9 in Public Worship, Private Faith).
4. Contemporary Period (1990–present)
A new golden age of tunebook production. This period begins with the publication of The Sacred Harp: 1991 Edition, which signaled a renewed editorial openness. It is marked by the creation of new tunebooks such as Northern Harmony (1990), The Sacred Harp, 1991 Edition (1991). and the The Shenandoah Harmony (2013), all compiled of tunes more or less in the tradition of the Sacred Harp style.
The emergence of “desktop publishing” was significant. Bob Rishmond, in the Spring 1995 issue of the Old Harp newsletter, credits Karen Willard’s An American Christmas Harp: “Its method of type composition is revolutionary: never before has a Harp book been set with a personal computer.”
Outside of the tunebooks, print culture also continued to evolve into digital culture. The National Sacred Harp Newsletter began in 1993, and concluded in 2012, the Sacred Harp Publishing Company Newsletter began publication. It ran through 2017 and stands as the most professional periodical ever associated with four-shape Sacred Harp singing, providing editorial insight, historical research, and news from across the singing community.
A proliferation of cassette tapes, CD-Rs, and internet-based audio and video recordings of Sacred Harp singings has dramatically expanded the tradition’s reach and accessibility. Platforms like YouTube and dedicated websites have globalized the tradition, with group video chat enabling virtual singings during COVID lockdowns and connecting far-flung communities. These technologies have supported the spread of shape-note music internationally in a way the books themselves could not, while also facilitating archival preservation, local documentation, and virtual participation.
The first documented all-day singing or Sacred Harp convention held outside the United States was the 1994 United Kingdom Sacred Harp Convention, which took place in Winchester, England, on May 28–29, 1994. This event is widely regarded as the first formal Sacred Harp convention held overseas, marking a significant milestone in the international spread of the tradition, and, importantly, the books at it’s heart.
II. Editorial Type
Editorial Type classifies a publication based on how it was compiled and what kind of editorial work shaped it. These categories reflect enduring features of a given edition—its structure, intent, and relationship to earlier sources. Whether a book is entirely new, commemorative, reprinted, or serial, editorial type helps us understand what it is and how it fits into the shape-note tradition.
Mixed Compilation
Combines older, previously published tunes with newly composed or newly arranged works. This is the most common type of four-shape shape-note tunebook.
Example: Northern Harmony (Fourth Edition, 2012)
Original Compilation
A collection composed entirely of newly typeset or arranged material—either newly composed or previously unpublished in this format (though some tunes may have been published by themselves, in other tunebooks, or serial publications.
Example: The Colored Sacred Harp (1934)
Curated Repertoire
A selection of tunes drawn from various sources, chosen to reflect a theme, pedagogical goal, or aesthetic purpose.
Example: An American Christmas Harp (ACH)
Reprint or Facsimile
Faithful reproduction of a previous edition, usually with no editorial intervention, but often including new supporting/framing/historical/ reference materials.
Example: The Social Harp (1973 reprint by University of Georgia Press)
Commemorative / Thematic
Created to mark a person, place, or occasion. Often small in scope.
Example: September Psalms: The Shape-Note Community Remembers (2002 tunebooklet)
Supplement
Designed to extend a specific tunebook, usually for local or temporary use.
Experimental or Artistic
Pushes the boundaries of the tunebook format—through hybrid notation, unusual texts, conceptual framing, etc.
Example: “The Call” by Herndon and Dryhurst (a 2024 London Art Installation), Kairos for All, by Gabriel Kastelle (2014 tunebooklet)
Serial Compilation
Published episodically rather than as a single volume. May be digital or printed.
Example: The Trumpet (2009–2014)
III. Lifecycle Status
Lifecycle Status describes the current or most recent functional state of a publication. It is the most time-sensitive and fragile of the three typological categories. A book’s lifecycle status can change rapidly—going out of print, resurfacing in use, or being revised. While the editorial type of an edition is generally fixed once published, and historical period is a stable chronological classification, lifecycle status is more like a snapshot: useful for describing a book’s present role, but not always reliable for understanding its long-term character.
This describes the current or most recent functional state of a publication. Unlike editorial type, lifecycle status can change over time.
For example: original copies of The Social Harp are rare, and the hardback reprint is no longer available. Even though there is a paperback edition available from Amazon, the book could be considered Dormant—as of 2025, there is only one all-day singing in Arnoldsville, Georgia, that uses the book, even in part. Describing The Social Harp as a “Dormant Formative Era Tunebook” accurately captures its current editorial and functional state.
In Print
Actively printed and distributed.
Example: The Shenandoah Harmony (2013)
Out of Print
No longer published or distributed. May still be used at regional or special singings.
Example: The Northern Harmony (though they sell an ebook)
Dormant
Not in print or active use at regular singings; functionally inactive but not entirely lost.
(Example: Many local-use-only tunebooks or one-off publications that never gained traction beyond a specific time/place.)
Revised / Expanded
A new edition has replaced the original with editorial updates or added content.
Example: Northern Harmony (1990 edition → later revised editions)
Superseded
Replaced in active use by a new named edition with a distinct editorial vision.
Example: The Sacred Harp (1844) superseded by 1911 J. S. James, then by later Denson editions
Completed Series
A serialized project that reached its conclusion and remains accessible.
Example: The Trumpet (2009–2014)
Conclusion
These means of definiing characteristics of any shape-note book object offers a framework for better understanding the life and role of four-shape tunebooks within the Sacred Harp style tradition. While it clarifies when a book emerged, the theme or intent of the compilation, and how it functions today, it deliberately sets aside questions about the music itself—the sounds, texts, and compositional variety that bring the tradition to life.
Such matters have been thoroughly explored elsewhere. The focus here is intentionally narrow: not on aesthetics or stylistic innovation, but on the history, availability, and editorial trajectory of the books themselves. While there is considerable musical range within the idiom, most compositions fall within a recognizable type, even if small divergences have sometimes caused spirited debate or division.
By anchoring our attention on publication history and editorial status, this typology provides a stable structure for bibliographic and cultural documentation—one that will hopefully support future study, use, and stewardship of these singing books.