Amidst a backdrop of graffiti art and industrial lighting in the basement of the
Green River Café in Downtown East Lansing, nine people of varying ages, political backgrounds and professions sing 3,000-year-old songs.
They sing about redemption, love and glory, but first they sing “fa, sol, la, mi,” in varying combinations, over and over again.
The Green River Café cadre of “Sacred Harp,” or “Shape Note,” singers is an informal
social network group that participates in a type of ancient singing that brings people of all social, political and religious backgrounds together.
In its most basic form, Sacred Harp singing is a conglomeration of four notes that are associated with a shape, identified with a sound and then put to words.
The shapes simplify music by stripping it of words and complex compositions, making it accessible to musicians and musical novices.
“Even back in the 1840s and 1850s, they had this sense that it was open to all religious sects,” says Tom Malone, who organizes the East Lansing crew.
Sacred Harp singing, which is also recognized as “
fasola,” started in America in the 1700s when colonial America used four rather than seven notes to teach four-part harmonies. It was also used to help uneducated people read music and participate in spiritual gatherings.
Each of the four notes used in Sacred Harp singing is assigned a shape: fa is a triangle, sol is a circle, la is a square and mi is a diamond.
“A lot of other people can’t read any other music, but they can read this music,” Malone says.
The varied repetitions of sung fas, sols, las, mis is enchanting and, to a degree, very soothing—a sound that could be used as a study or sleep aid.
Once the majority of the group grasps the music’s four-part harmony, the notes are replaced with words, which is when the four notes turn into a cacophony of spirit-raising choir music.
Passing Through the Hands of TimeSacred Harp singing has survived in America since the early 1700s because its literally been carried across the country by word of mouth and speed of foot.
“It’s still here because it’s attractive to young people,” Malone says.
Young people like
Michigan State University (MSU) students Caitlin Taylor, 18, and Tricia Smith, 19.
“It’s a really powerful kind of music and it’s really neat to be a part of something that powerful,” Taylor says.
Taylor, a landscape architecture major devoid of any musical background, has been with the group for several months. This summer, she plans to travel to Chicago or another area of the country for a day or weekend-long sing.
“I will take some singing classes next semester because this gives me the confidence to do so,” she says.
Tricia Smith plays the saxophone and participates in an MSU choir, but says she like Sacred Harp because it focuses on different music elements than does her technical training.
“It’s different from most choirs,” Smith says. “It’s more focused on how rich of a sound you can make than the technical stuff.”
Shape Note singers don’t perform and they don’t technically “practice.” They just get together and sing, but they do this all over the country.
In fact, before the Green River Café practice, Malone spent a few minutes on his cell phone chatting with a fellow singer visiting from Maine. She didn’t end up attending the sing, but it’s extremely common for singers to call up other Sacred Harp singers when they’re on the road.
One of the men who participates in the Green River group but works in California, stops at sings throughout the country when he’s traveling.
“A lot of us will only see each other in states where neither of us live,” Malone says.
The Green River Café Sacred Harp singers sit in a loose square and watch Malone, who starts off by standing at the center, directing the crew. He helps the singers stay on track, sitting next to those who lose tone or track of the music.
Everyone gets a chance to call out a song. This is done by yelling out a page number, all of which Malone seems to recognize.
“What do you think about the key? Is it all right?” Malone asks.
Generally the person who calls out a song stands at the center of the square, leading the rest of the group.
“Once we get it going, it belongs to everyone and then it’s democratic,” Malone says.
But it’s also okay to be a terrified observer, such as myself. In the tradition of the singing style, the Green River Café Sacred Harp singing group is very non-threatening. No one is forced to sing, call out a song or lead, and when the harmonies start to fall apart, Malone offers to go back to the shapes.
“I want to do more teaching with this group but I don’t want to overstep my bounds as part of the crew,” he says.
Following the TraditionMalone was introduced to Sacred Harp singing by accident. Malone, who is originally from Vermont, came across a recording of Sacred Harp singer Alan Lomax from the 1959 singing in Fyffe while looking for composition recordings at the
New England Conservatory in Boston where he was studying composition.
“It just blew me away. As soon as I heard it I said, ‘This is part of me,’” Malone says.
Sacred Harp was one big cauldron of everything Malone loved—folk music, composition and Celtic harmonies.
Soon Malone started participating in sings. It was clinical physiology (which is wife is studying) rather than Sacred Harp singing, that got Malone to East Lansing. He’s been here for six years and teaches music in Dewitt and at
Lansing Community College (LCC).
He’s also pursuing a doctorate from Boston University in traditional Sacred Harp teaching and attends singings all over the country both as a teacher and a student.
Malone participated in Sacred Harp groups in Kalamazoo and Ann Arbor before meeting up with other Mid-Michigan-based Sacred Harp singers. The crew initially took turns meeting at each other’s houses, but started filling up the Green River Café basement last fall.
“If the power went out, we could still do this. Nothing would change,” Malone says.
Ivy Hughes is the development editor for Capital Gains. She has trouble reading shapes.
Dave Trumpie is the managing photographer for Capital Gains. He is a freelance photographer and owner of Trumpie Photography.
Photos:
Shape Note singing group
Tom Malone
The group meets in the basement of Green River Cafe
Tricia Smith, Caitlin Taylor and Malone
The Sacred Harp song book
Tom Malone stands in the circle leading the group
All Photographs © Dave Trumpie