I was walking to the nearby coffee shop when I heard a strange yet familiar sound coming from the third floor church window along the way. A few years ago I took a world music class that had a section on the old timey tradition of Shape Note singing and I had a feeling that what they were singing. I went up stairs and this video is what I found. Here’s a five minute taste of Shape Note singing with an explanation of how it works and its history.
Shape Note recently gained some popularity after the movie Cold Mountain had a scene were a congregation was singing out the songs of the “Sacred Harp.” My world music teacher and her husband were the muscial directors in the movie and even had some of their songs featured on the Cold Mountain Soundtrack along side Jack White (of the White Stripes), Riley Baugus and Tim O’Brien. The movie’s soundtrack was nominated for 2 Golden Globes, 3 Oscars, and 3 Grammies.
Here’s a link to a video of Tim Erikson, my teacher’s husband pickin’ the banjo and singing.
Click here.