Middlebury Shape Note Singers

Shape Note singing is a 250-year-old American community style of 4-part-harmony, a cappella, social and spiritual music. We use The Sacred Harp tune book (https://fasola.org/). Loaner books are available. No experience is required. No auditions, rehearsals, or performances. We simply love to sing together. All are welcome.

We sing on the second Sunday of every month, 1:00 to 3:00 PM, in Mitchell Green Lounge. It is located on the top floor of the McCullough Student Center and is accessible by stairs and elevator. Parking is available on Old Chapel Road and adjacent parking lots. Enter from Rte. 125/College St. or Rte. 30/S. Main St. In summertime, we sing outside at the Mary Hogan Recreation Park Pavilion, off Court St./Rte 7 South.

It’s called shape-note because the notes of the scale are indicated by distinctive shapes and names. Singers sit in parts – treble, tenor, bass, and alto – on four sides of a hollow square, facing and singing to each other, achieving a very sociable and musical experience. This tradition began in the late 1700s, when itinerant singing school masters travelled around early New England villages. It still thrives across the US, Canada and in the UK, continental Europe and beyond.

More information is available at https://vermontshapenotesingers.com/.