Shape-note is a centuries-old American tradition of harmony singing, using musical notation that visually associates each note of the scale with a shape (i.e. square, circle, triangle, etc) and a syllable (i.e. fa, so, la, mi). This made it easier for traveling songbook salesmen in the late 1700s and early 1800s to teach beginners to read music in "singing schools." In our singing school at Rare Bird, we will learn the rudiments of singing, talk about the culture of shape-note singing, and learn a few common songs from the most widely used shape-note tunebook, the Sacred Harp. Bring yourselves and your voices and we'll provide books to borrow!