Shape notes are a musical notation designed to facilitate congregational and social singing. The notation became a popular teaching device in American singing schools during the 19th century.

Shape notes are a variant system of Western musical notation whereby the note heads are printed in distinct shapes to indicate their scale degree and solmization syllable (fa, sol, la, etc.).

Tell them of the system that uses only four syllables for the seven-note scale and has a different note shape for each syllable. Direct their attention to the poster board or chalkboard on which …

Nineteenth century American song books that used notes in different shapes to aid singers and teach singing came to be known as "shape-note hymnals" and the style of singing from these …

Shaped note music uses a form of solmization (putting syllables to scale degrees) and started with only four shapes - Fa, Sol, La, and Mi. The idea is that the shapes will help singers learn …

Shape-note singing is one of the oldest and most uniquely American musical traditions still thriving today. It emerged in New England in the late 18th century, when itinerant singing masters …

From New England to the West and South, nearly every-one in early America who learned to read vocal music did so using a system of shaped notes—different shapes for the notes of the …

Shape-Note (or shaped-note) music is an American style of singing that emerged from the American Tunebook traditions of the 18th and 19th centuries. In this style, noteheads are …

In shape note the shape of a note and its position on the staff indicate its position within the key or scale, rather than its absolute pitch, which is not indicated. It works like a moveable-do system.

It is a system of music notation that makes sight-reading accessible to those who might otherwise be intimidated by regular music. Each degree of the standard musical scale is assigned a …