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by Maxine Davis
Have you ever been to an ‘all-day singing’ and ‘dinner on the ground?’ I have—recently.
I attended the annual Hopewell Church, All-Day Sacred Harp Singing with Dinner On the Ground. They do sing from morning until mid-afternoon, stopping for a break or two and lunch, which brings me to ‘dinner-on-the-ground.’ It was lunch. I’m happy to say it was on picnic tables under a long shelter and consisted of everyone’s covered dish they brought to share. Absolutely delicious!
Ah, you’re still wondering about that Fa-Sol-La ing in the title. It’s not a misprint. I did not mean Fa-La-La ing, as in Christmas. This is Sacred Harp singing. It is also called Shaped Note Singing. You sing the notes: Fa, Sol, La, and Mi (pronounced me). There are people that travel over (mostly) the Southeast going from church to church where there will be one Sunday a year dedicated to Sacred Harp singing.
The term Sacred Harp refers to the human voice. Sacred Harp is an American style of singing hymns. In the mid-1800’s, people then, as now, liked to sing. Many could not read; therefore, they sang the shaped notes: 
fa, 
sol, 
la and 
mi. The note heads are shaped according to their position on the scale: fa, sol, la, and mi. This is sung with no musical instruments accompanying.
The system used in the Sacred Harp is able to cover the full musical scale because each syllable-shape combination other than mi is assigned to two distinct notes of the scale. For example, the C major scale would be notated and sung as follows:
I have attended this off-and-on since I was a small child. Back then the whole family piled in the Nash or later the Buick, went to Roopville, Ga., past my grandparents’ home and followed a couple of dirt roads, with the windows down (no air conditioning). Dotted Swiss dresses and crinolines were very pretty, but were misery to wear. With no air conditioning in the church and with the church windows open wide, you could hear them singing when you turned in the drive.
I still enjoy going. But now the road is paved, the car has AC, and proper church attire includes a cotton skirt, top and sandals. The church is “somewhat” air conditioned, and a bathroom has been added to the back of the church. At the dinner break, soft drinks and tea have replaced the #5 washtub filled with lemonade.
To be honest, I go, listen for about half an hour, step outside and visit with some cousins and sometimes stay for the lunch. I have then had my dose of Sacred Harp for the year. So, next summer, you know where I’ll be – IF the air conditioning is working in the car.
Want to hear some singing/learn more, go to http://awakemysoul.com
by Maxine Davis
by Maxine Davis
16 comments
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Interesting post. I’m a Southern girl and have gone to many a ‘singing’ but have never heard of Sacred Heart Singing.
Ya learn something new every day.
Very interesting post. I’ve never heard of Sacred Harp singing either but I’m looking forward to hearing it on your link.I do remember wearing dotted swiss. I loved dotted swiss.
Marilyn
Oh, I love the idea of this, Maxine!
I had never heard of it before you mentioned it a few months ago. Curious, I asked an aunt who has lived here in Georgia all her live and she knew instantly what I was talking about. She did say it was a southern thing and recalled many happy memories.
I’ve since added attending one of these sing-alongs to my to-do list. I love the idea of something that was done in the 1800′s still happening today.
Thanks for introducing me to something new.
Tami
Carol, thanks for writing. According to a former college roommate who went w/me one year, she said it must be an acquired taste and she didn’t ‘acquire’ it.
Marilyn, you actually loved dotted swiss?? It was pretty, but maybe I just wore the wrong slip.
Tami, you’ll have to go with me next year. Hubby hasn’t really acquired the taste for it yet.
Maxine – I’ve never heard of this either and think it’s a wonderful tradition to have survived so many years.
Maxine,
I have heard of it and know a church where it is sung about twice a year. They even have dinner on the ground. Which is a must if you’ve never gone to one. Best food ever. You make me want to go to a singing sometime. Great post. I’m going to make sure my mother reads it. She’ll appreciate the great info.
Dianna, Thanks for taking time to stop – hectic week for you.
Susan, Come go with me to Hopewell next year if you’d like!
Okay, the internet ate my first comment. Be sure to use this in a story. What a unique piece of the South.
Thanks Debbie,
I am including it in one! Maybe it’ll bring me luck!
Maxine, I didn’t remember it as Sacred Harp, but I had an old Cokesbury that had the shape notes. (And how I love the Cokesbury–love that hymnal so much that it is actually in my novel.)
My grandmother was a Primitive Baptist and her father was a song leader–she told me about shape notes, too.
Thanks for the awesome post–the only thing better would be singing “Beautiful River” followed by eating some little old lady’s homemade mac & cheese.
Maxine,
I lived in the south until I was twelve, but never heard of this. Where have I been since the 1800s? !!!
Thanks for bringing a bit of our culture to us. Now if I have a trivia question about Sacred Harp, I’LL KNOW THE ANSWER!
Sandy
Sorry I’m so late. My power was out for several hours due to the electrical storm. They didn’t have that problem in the 1800s, did they? But then, there were no bloggers then either. Just people gossiping while sitting on the porch shelling peas, LOL.
Lovely, unique post, Maxine. Did you know they did Sacred Harp singing in the movie “Cold Mountain?” (A heavy flick, definitely without an HEA, but I think it won awards.) There was also a PBS special on Sacred Harp singing some time ago. I think it’s a very spiritual experience. Thanks for sharing it with us.
Sally, I’ll have to show you my Sacred Harp song book some time.
Sandy, Don’t feel bad. I’ve had friends that lived here all their lives say, “You went to hear what??”
Linsey, Yes about Cold Mountain. I can hardly watch that. That special that was on PBS, Awake My Soul–My Mom’s cousin is in it and that part was at Hopewell. If you go to that link about AMS. He is in the video – white hair, blue-checked shirt and just a wonderful man!
I really enjoyed this post Maxine.
I’ve never heard of sacred harp singing. And how lovely to describe the human voice that way.
I also thought your description of attending these get togethers as a child was so evocative. I felt the discomfort of the heat and the dresses, saw the dust in the air. Tasted that lemonade!
Excellent!
Have a wonderful morning, and sorry for the late comment,
Tamara
Maxine,
I’m trying to catch up on blog posts I missed this week. Great post!
This is so cool! I remember those dotted swiss dresses with crinoline…and cannot believe we’d get in a car with no air conditioning in the heat of the summer!
I will ask some of my Southern friends from choir if they’ve heard of this. I’ll let you know!
Anna