Singing in Salem

Do you like to sing? New to this? Perhaps curiosity is getting the better of you. Come to a singing!

Singing the Sacred Harp is free of charge, open to all. Everyone is welcome. Loaner songbooks are available for the duration of the singing.

Email Salem Sacred Harp
(503) 385-1535
Please email or call for schedule.

Watch some examples of
Sacred Harp singing:

Bridgett Hill Kennedy leads
276 Bridgewater

Morgan Cavanagh leads 146 Hallelujah, 1st Ireland Sacred Harp Convention, 2011

Warren Steel leads 211 Whitestown, Michiana Sacred Harp Festival, Goshen IN, 2012

Watch the trailer for the Sacred Harp
documentary film "Awake, My Soul"

Alan Lomax speaks on Sacred Harp, 1982

Information sources:

Fasola.org -  The complete resource!

Portland Sacred Harp

Eugene Sacred Harp

Pacific Northwest Sacred Harp Singers

Sacred Harp on Wikipedia

Shout and Sing the Good Old Way:
A Sacred Harp Story
(typo alert: it's Isaac Watts, not Warrs)

The 1991 Revision of The Sacred Harp

 

DEDICATED TO all lovers of Sacred Harp Music, and to the memory of the illustrious and venerable patriarchs who established the Traditional Style of Sacred Harp singing and admonished their followers to "seek the old paths and walk therein".

Since you may be wondering what this is... click here to watch a video about Sacred Harp singing, where it comes from and what it sounds like.

We sing songs from a songbook titled "The Sacred Harp", the word "harp" referring, in this case, to the instrument bestowed upon each of us by the Creator, our voice.

This collection of over 500 venerable religious songs and folk tunes was first published in 1844 and has been in use continuously ever since. This was the first music in America. A number of the songs in this collection date back to the 18th century, prior to the time of the American Revolution.

We are now looking for interested people to sing the Sacred Harp in Salem, OR. We welcome anyone who would like to sing with us! These are community singings, open to the public and free of charge. You are welcome to visit and join in, or just listen. All voices with any level of experience are welcome. All it takes is a desire to sing.

The songs are interesting, easy-to-learn four-part acapella choral pieces for men's and women's voices. This music, with its four shape notation was used as a way to teach people to read music and improve upon singing in churches where often there were no instruments to assist. In keeping with this tradition, Sacred Harp is always sung unaccompanied and in full voice, or loud, although to sing loudly is never a requirement for participation.

                                      

The music is all written in shaped notes, four shapes in total, each shape representing a tone interval, or note, on the scale. Come and we will show you. We are looking forward to having this wonderful American tradition grow in the Salem area.

Sacred Harp loaners books are available for the duration of the singing and they may be purchased for our cost ($25).

Sacred Harp singing is never affiliated with any religious or political organization.