Shapenote Scotland is an informal association of people who love shapenote ( also called Sacred Harp) singing.
Once a year we sing all day, and have a pot-luck lunch.
It's not a performance but a communal participative event, and a "good" voice is not necessary. Music-reading ability is not essential ( but is an advantage), and we have loaner music books.
We sing unaccompanied three- and four-part vocal harmony in a rustic style dating back to 18th and 19th century America. The songs are found in "tunebooks". The one we mostly use is called the Sacred Harp ( first published in 1844).New tunes are constantly being composed. The words are usually (though not always) religious in nature, but people of all faiths and none sing this music, not as an act of worship but for sheer enjoyment.
You are welcome to come for all or part of the day to listen or join in, we run from 10.30 to about 16.15.
It’s a free event- we take donations to cover costs.
Why is it called shapenote? Shape note music isn’t written classic oval-shaped note heads but uses different shapes to indicate each note’s pitch. This helps singers easily sight-read and learn new pieces of music.
We have once a month evening sings in Glasgow and Edinburgh, see our facebook page for details!
Where possible we will update our listings to notify of cancelled, postponed and rescheduled events, however we STRONGLY ADVISE that you check with the venue/organiser in the first instance for updates.
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