In a church near Atlanta, singers eagerly cracked open the spines of their brand new \u201cThe Sacred Harp\u201d songbooks, which they got just minutes ago. Details like design of the cover were kept secret until now. People filled in the pews with excited chatter, and hugs are exchanged between friends from this widespread, but close-knit community.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am overwhelmed with joy,\u201d said Judy Mincey, an avid shape note singer. \u201cA friend just described this as the world\u2019s biggest family reunion.\u201d<\/p>\n
Then, David Ivey, head of the revision committee for the Sacred Harp Publishing Company, stepped up to a podium.<\/p>\n
\u201cWelcome to the celebration weekend for the debut of the \u2018The Sacred Harp: 2025 Edition,\u2019\u201d he said, prompting a long, enthusiastic cheer from the crowd.<\/p>\n
The music inside the book may look unusual to modern musicians. The notes are shapes that correspond with syllables like fa, sol and la. It was popular with Christians in the South during the 1800s because it taught untrained singers to read music. It stayed alive in rural parts of states like Tennessee, Kentucky, Alabama and Georgia.<\/p>\n
Today, the songs are still sung with no rehearsal, no audience and no instruments. Even the religious aspect is optional. Although the themes are still pulled straight from scripture, many singers just enjoy the harmonies.<\/p>\n
In a prepared speech, Ivey told the crowd that constant revision to \u201cThe Sacred Harp\u201d is just as central to their community as the shape notes themselves. The revision committee added 113 new songs out of nearly 1,200 submissions <\/u><\/a>from all over the world.<\/p>\n The last time this songbook was revised was in 1991, before the internet<\/u><\/a> was widely used. And it\u2019s thanks, in part, to the web that the shape note community has changed and grown quite a bit in recent years.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is our long history of groups of singers collaborating to produce our songbook [for] 176 years,\u201d Ivey said. \u201cThis has served \u2018The Sacred Harp\u2019 well by involving caring revisers who understand and represent their singing brothers and sisters.\u201d<\/p>\n The first day of the \u201ccelebration weekend\u201d was scheduled for seminars to give singers background about the revision process to their beloved book.<\/p>\n But during a lunch break, singers were so eager to try the tunes out, a few dozen form an impromptu group outside.<\/p>\n \u201cYou can kind of feel how electric the air is, everybody is just so excited,\u201d Jose Camacho-Cerna said, watching the group.<\/p>\n Camacho-Cerna has good reason to be excited, too. He wrote one of the new tunes in the book named \u201cLowndes,\u201d after the county in Georgia where he lives.<\/p>\n He\u2019s part of that younger crowd that\u2019s found shape note singing in recent years. He said the dramatic lyrics, often about mortality and sin, <\/u><\/a>and the simple-yet-powerful chords made it an easy transition from the music he was used to.<\/p>\n \u201cI was in a punk band, [which] I know [sounds] kinda crazy,\u201d he said. \u201cThat\u2019s something that attracted me to it, I just thought it was very metal \u2014 the 1800s\u2019 metal.\u201d<\/p>\n Many of the singers like Camacho-Cerna came for the music but stayed for the community. It\u2019s incredibly diverse. Here, women with short purple hair sing next to men with long white beards in four-part harmony.<\/p>\n \u201cI love the singing, I love the community. Now, I get to be part of a historic legacy,\u201d he said, with a grin. \u201cSo yeah, I\u2019m quite happy.\u201d<\/p>\n On Saturday, organizers estimate around 700 people showed up for the first official singing. It\u2019s the largest gathering of shape note singers that anyone living can remember. Many weren\u2019t sure if a singing this large would work or fall apart.<\/p>\n \u201cThe size is a little bit daunting to me,\u201d Karen Willard said. \u201cI normally wear hearing aids. Not today. I brought ear plugs.\u201d<\/p>\n But judging by the smiles just a few songs into a weekend full of song, it worked well.<\/p>\n Ivey watched from behind the square of singers, wiping tears from his eyes. To him, \u201cThe Sacred Harp\u201d is more than a collection of songs \u2014 it\u2019s a symbol of unity.<\/p>\n \u201cThis book is precious to people. The book is what binds our community, the diaspora of singers everywhere,\u201d he said. \u201cThe book \u2014 that\u2019s what brings us together.\u201d<\/p>\n Ivey said 50 years ago, people thought shape note singing was on its way out. But the update of \u201cThe Sacred Harp\u201d keeps the book a living document.<\/p>\n This story was produced by the Appalachia + Mid-South Newsroom, a collaboration between <\/i>West Virginia Public Broadcasting<\/u><\/i><\/a>, <\/i>WPLN<\/u><\/i><\/a> and <\/i>WUOT<\/u><\/i><\/a> in Tennessee, <\/i>LPM<\/u><\/i><\/a>, <\/i>WEKU<\/u><\/i><\/a>, <\/i>WKMS<\/u><\/i><\/a> and <\/i>WKU Public Radio<\/u><\/i><\/a> in Kentucky and NPR.<\/i><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n![\"Jose](\"https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims4\/default\/7f20984\/2147483647\/strip\/true\/crop\/5340x3593+0+0\/resize\/880x592!\/quality\/90\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fc8%2Fda%2F8e1aa41345bcb2525528aabae0e7%2F20250913-jmh8011.jpg\"\/)
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