Category: ·Historical & Scholarly Research
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Pilgrim Productions’ Voices Across America, originally curated by June Lydic, is being restored by Kyle Johnston on Bandcamp. It offers free access to unique shape-note recordings and preserves their documentary value.
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Hamm Harmony (1992) Compiled and Composed by: Neely BrucePublished: Middletown, Connecticut, 1992Format: Comb-bound, 8.5×11″, four-shape notationLength: 116 numbered pages (not including title page or preface)Typology: Contemporary Era – Tunebooklet – Original Compilation Overview Hamm Harmony is a 1992 tunebooklet of original four-shape compositions by Neely Bruce, created during the early years of the shape-note revival…
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The Sacred Harp Publishing Company has announced a full-day symposium, Revising The Sacred Harp, to be held Friday, September 12, 2025, at Emory University’s Woodruff Library in Atlanta. This event will serve as the public unveiling of the much-anticipated 2025 Edition of The Sacred Harp—and your first opportunity to get a personal copy in hand.…
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The following list presents known four-shape shape-note tunebooks published during what I define as the Revival Period (1960–1989) of four-shape shape-note tunebook publishing, a phase of rediscovery and preservation. This era coincided with…
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In the small rural community of Louvale, Georgia, a remarkable effort to preserve and pass on the tradition of Sacred Harp singing took root in the early 1980s. While Louvale may be easy to miss on the map, many nmay not know it has a role in the continuation of shape-note music in the Chattahoochee…
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Two New Titles for Lovers of Shape-Note History — Available Now Two books close to my heart were officially published today, July 6, 2025, through Hollow Square Books. Both are now available at hollowsquarebooks.com and Amazon.com. These titles emerged from my own study of shape-note history and the desire to make neglected or out-of-print works…
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Now that I’ve published a working definition of the shape-note tunebooklet, I want to offer a detailed example—both to illustrate the term and to establish a model for future entries. For simplicity, I’ll refer to these as tunebooklets, with the understanding that I’m speaking specifically about those rooted in the shape-note tradition. Because tunebooklets are…
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I’ve been casually collecting shape-note tunebooks because I’m fascinated by the subject. In order to understand the subject I’ve found it necessary to articulate working definitions for what I’m trying to study. Definitions help clarify what materials belong within a given category, but they also reveal the blurry edges and the overlaps of those categories.…
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At SingLoud.org, we were saddened to learn of the passing of Buell E. Cobb, Jr. on April 26th. Although I never had the chance to meet Mr. Cobb personally, his books and writings have been a vital resource in helping me—and so many others—better understand and appreciate the Sacred Harp tradition. Through his work, he…
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Published in the Abolition Intelligencer and Missionary Magazine (Shelbyville, KY, Vol. 1, Iss. 2, June 1822), this letter from Elijah Boardman (findagrave.com) provides a striking glimpse into the use of shape-note singing in early American missionary efforts. The account describes a singing school among the Tuscarora people in Lewistown, New York, where indigenous singers learned…