One of America’s oldest singing traditions, shape note singing, challenges participants to reapproach the way they read and perform music. Originating in New England in the early 19th century, shape note singing first began as a simpler form of reading sheet music, primarily used in religious choirs performing hymns and psalms.
Shape note singing is represented by its unique use of shapes on sheet music, allowing those less familiar with music notation to read the sheet music easily. As opposed to typical music notation, each shape represents a different note for the singer to follow.
Grey Grant, who works as the communications manager at the Riverside Arts Center in Ypsilanti, has been participating in the Ypsi Shape Note Group for three years. Grant said that the tradition of shape note singing is carried on by the people, along with written history.
“The shape note tradition is full of nerds who like documenting things,” Grant said. “It’s a notated system, so we call it shape note singing because the note heads of the notated music are different shapes.”
While shape note singing has two distinct systems, the four-shape system is more common, consisting of only four shapes that performers must memorize, Grant said. The shapes also correlate with non-music objects, which makes them easier to remember.
“Fa is a triangle because it looks like a flag, and sol is a circle because it looks like the sun,” Grant said. “La is a square because if you look at the left and bottom side of the square, it makes an L, and then there’s the diamond. The diamond is mi because people say that diamonds are for me.”
While the majority of the text that shape note singers interact with is related to Christianity and the Christian Bible, Grant explains that people can come to shape note singing for their own reasons, even if they are non-religious.
“When you’re in the room singing, it’s about the music … There is a secularization and a secular understanding about how the practice is held … When you show up to practice, you’re supposed to leave politics and religion at the door,” Grant said. “Everybody is welcome; even though the text may be Christian, a lot of the themes end up being about love, life and death.”
Much of the music performed through shape note singing is about grief and the practice of preparing for death, Grant said.
The Ypsi Shape Note Group meets every second and fourth Tuesday of the month, with newcomers encouraged to drop in for any meetings that work for them. Participation is free, and while attendees can bring their own shape note singing books, copies will be provided during the meeting.
While the Ypsi Shape Note Group does not perform in front of an audience, those wishing to get more involved can visit the Ann Arbor Sacred Harp Group, which meets at The Ark in Ann Arbor from 1-4 p.m. the second Sunday of each month.
To find more information on the Ypsi Shape Note Group, interested attendees can visit its page on the Riverside Arts Center’s website.