Vocal Fatigue Experiences and Mitigation Strategies in the Sacred Harp Singing Community

Reviewed by: The Makers of the Sacred Harp Drew Beisswenger The Makers of the Sacred Harp. By David Warren Steel with Richard H. Hulan. (Music in American Life.) Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 2010. [xv, 321 p. 9780252035678 (hardcover), $70; ISBN 9780252077609 (paperback), $25.] Illustrations, bibliography, index. In the twentieth century, The Sacred Harp emerged as the preeminent nineteenth-century shape-note sacred tunebook in the South. In fact, in my experience, many people today believe shape-note singing and Sacred Harp singing are synonymous; for them there is no other shape-note music. The library world reinforces this understanding slightly in the way it places the heading "Sacred Harp singing," but no other tunebook-specific heading, within the syndetic structure of the "Shape note singing" subject heading. David Warren Steel's book fills an important gap in the scholarship about The Sacred Harp by focusing to a large degree on the individual people and songs associated with the early years. Before I comment specifically on the importance of Steel's book, I would like to place The Sacred Harp within the broader field of shape-note music as a whole. When The Sacred Harp was first published in 1844, many similar oblong-style tune-books already had been published (more than 100, according to the Sacred Harp Musical Heritage Association's Web site: http://fasola.org/shmha/, accessed 6 July 2011). The compilers of The Sacred Harp copied liberally from existing tunebooks that utilized a four-shape-notation system—a system that was most popular in the South—including the Southern Harmony, published in 1835. Such tunebooks, which [End Page 381] typically contained a few hundred religious songs notated in three- or four-part harmony, were widely sung in a congregational style at community singing events outside of formal church services. In the decades that followed, several other oblong-style tunebooks, many of which incorporated a newer seven-shape system such as the Christian Harmony and the Harp of Columbia, enjoyed substantial success. In the twentieth century, over thirty Southern publishers, most notably James D. Vaughan and Stamps-Baxter, published hundreds of smaller shape-note gospel songbook titles that typically featured newer songs. Shape-note hymnbooks such as Heavenly Highway Hymns and Favorite Songs and Hymns, both published by Stamps-Baxter, became very popular and are still found in many Southern church pews. The history and variety of shape-note music traditions are complex and rich, and stretch far beyond The Sacred Harp. That being said, the extraordinary popularity of The Sacred Harp music is undeniable, and for reasons that will perhaps never be fully understood, the singing traditions associated with most other shape-note tunebooks have diminished or ended (although singings and singing conventions can still be found that use The Southern Harmony, The Christian Harmony, The Missouri Harmony, The New Harp of Columbia, and various newer shape-note gospel song-books). The Sacred Harp Musical Heritage Association Web site lists over 375 locations where Sacred Harp singers gather regularly, mainly in Georgia and Alabama but also throughout the world. The tunebook, which has gone through numerous revisions, has become the primary song book used at informal singing events not only in rural churches and community buildings in the Deep South, but also at college campuses, music-related conferences, and informal house gatherings on a national scale. Typically, the songs are sung by everyone in attendance at a Sacred Harp singing, and the singers, who are organized by vocal part, sit in a square facing a song leader. The Sacred Harp has been the subjects of several books and recordings, innumerable articles, and a feature-length documentary titled Awake, My Soul (the movie's trailer is, in and of itself, a striking piece). The tunebook clearly deserves the attention of researchers of American music traditions. With his book The Makers of the Sacred Harp, David Warren Steel makes an important contribution to the scholarship on The Sacred Harp, in large part because he includes biographical sketches of over 250 composers and poets whose songs are contained in its early editions. He also includes data on over 550 Sacred Harp songs, including source information. Most of this information is...

In 1994 the Sacred Harp, a southern, shape-note tunebook, entered its 150th year of continuous use. First compiled in 1844 by B. F. White and E. J. King, and updated numerous times, The Sacred Harp books in the "Denson" tradition, including The Sacred Harp: 1991 Edition, are today the most popular and widely used twentieth-century revisions of any nineteenth-century tunebook. Sacred Harp singing has been a largely rural, Southern tradition and in the years between 1844 and the early 1970s several hundred separate singings were founded, many of which continue to be active. In the early 1990s the Sacred Harp tradition, with approximately 175 annual singings, remains largely rural. While some recent scholarship acknowledges a few urban singings founded during the middle 1970s, including several in the South, documentation of organized urban activity has been lacking. Analysis of data, including founding dates of singings derived from the Directory and Minutes of Sacred Harp Singing, 1991-1992, has confirmed a trend towards an increase in the number of new singings being founded, with the majority being founded in urban areas in the North; since 1990, most of the new singings have been founded in urban areas in the Midwest or West. Through the use of methods of social investigation, including informal interviews, surveys and field recordings, and drawing on the historical perspective of the various revisions of The Sacred Harp, the present study further documents the geographic spread of singings in the North, especially the Midwest, and to a lesser degree in other regions outside the South, identifies forces active in the proliferation of urban/urbanized singings, explores the relationship between the spread of Sacred Harp singing in the urban north and the twentieth-century revival of folk music, and further identifies what type of person practices Sacred Harp singing in Northern urban areas.

Sacred Harp singers the world over gather weekly to sing out of The Sacred Harp, a collection of shape-note songs first published in 1844. Their tradition is highly ritualized, and it plays an important role in the lives of many participants. Following the implementation of lockdown protocols to combat the COVID-19 pandemic, groups of Sacred Harp singers quickly and independently devised a variety of means by which to sing together online using Zoom (“zinging”), Jamulus (“jamzinging”), and Facebook Live (“stringing”). The rapidity and creativity with which Sacred Harp singers developed ways to sustain their activities attests to the strength and significance of this community of practice, and in this article I describe each modality and provide an account of how it came to be developed and widely used. As a participant-observer, I completed extensive fieldwork across these digital sites and conducted semi-structured interviews with 22 other singers. I found that online singing practices have reshaped the Sacred Harp community. Many singers who did not previously have the opportunity to participate now have access, while others have lost access due to technological barriers or lack of interest in online activities. At the same time, geographical barriers have disintegrated, and singing organizers must make an effort to maintain local identity. A stable community of singers has emerged in the digital realm, but it is by no means identical to the community that predated the pandemic. I also identify the ways in which online singing has proven meaningful to participants by providing continuity in their personal and communal practice. Specifically, online singing allows participants to access and celebrate their collective memories of the Sacred Harp community, carry out significant rituals, and continue to grow as singers. While no single modality replicates the complete Sacred Harp singing experience, together they function “like pieces in a puzzle” (as one singer put it), allowing individual participants to access many of the elements of Sacred Harp singing that are most meaningful to them.

Vocal Self-Perception of Singers During COVID-19 Pandemic.

Vocal Sensory Symptoms, Vocal Fatigue and Vocal Habits in University Professors

Awake, My Soul: The Story of the Sacred Harp. DVD. Directed by Matt and Erica Hinton. Awake Productions, 2006. ASIN: B0016CXXC8, $25. The story of singing is integrally associated with the story of music education; our first foundations of music teaching and learning in America were based on singing schools in churches and communities. These schools provided the core principles of how music was considered, learned, and passed through generations, both young and old. The music sung was not primarily of European convention, but one rough-hewn and connected with the rugged landscape of the American experience during the nation's first 200 years. Filmmakers Matthew and Erica Hinton have ably presented the story of this important tradition in their documentary Awake, My Soul: The Story of the Sacred Harp. The film, released in 2006, was broadcast on several PBS stations throughout the South and elsewhere. Based on seven years of field research, the filmmakers collected nearly 200 hours of footage reflecting their experiences in rural churches in Georgia, Alabama, and other parts of the South. The directors weave the account of the music and its history through the lives and narratives of several practitioners of the craft, creating a compelling and engaging story of sacred harp singing in America. The film moves from theme to theme through these personal experiences, and contains history, singing, interviews, images, and commentary. Included in this thematic presentation are portrayals of early American singing schools, descriptions of shape-note singing and how it is understood and sung, an overview of its practice both past and present, discussion of the audiences involved with this type of singing, the individual stories of the participants, and generous samples of engaged, hearty singing. The various segments move seamlessly, and one slowly understands each of the individuals represented in the film, providing a personal connection to their musical journeys through sacred harp singing. As music education historians readily know, the story of the early singing schools began in the North and eventually migrated South where it has resided for the past 150 years. Figures such as William Billings, Lowell Mason, B.F. White, William Walker, Jeremiah Ingalls, William Smith, E.J. King, and others are mentioned as early composers, leaders, and educators in the early American music education and shape-note singing movement. There is also a brief overview of the connection between music of Europe and the Middle Ages, and this now traditional American art form of the Sacred Harp. This information is presented through various perspectives: singing practitioners, professional shape note singers, and a music professor and historian of shape note singing. Jim Lauderdale, a country music singer and songwriter, narrates the film. It is carefully researched with ethnographic, historical, and oral history methods and has been created, edited, and marketed with nearly the entire cast and production crew dedicated to this lesser-known musical art. Once the history of sacred harp singing is explained, time is devoted to the process of singing as it occurred historically and remains to this day. Often during a sacred harp sing, as many 100 tunes are sung in one day, with many of the members taking turns as leader. The leader stands in the center-square, or hollow, in the middle of the church, while the pews surround this center in a larger square. …

Vocal Health Practices Among School Teachers: A Study From Chennai, India

Sacred Harp singing, a common type of shape-note singing, is a centuries-old tradition of American community choral music. It is traditionally a participatory form of music with no distinction between performers and audience, a characteristic that makes for acoustical requirements that differ considerably from those of a concert hall or even a typical worship space. In the spirit of the text Concert Halls and Opera Houses by L. Beranek, we seek to correlate acoustical measurements of spaces used for Sacred Harp singing with subjective evaluations of those spaces made by the singers themselves. To achieve this, measurements of reverberation time and support factor of each space are coupled with participant surveys in 10 different Sacred Harp singing locations. Those measurements are then examined for their applicability as metrics for evaluation of Sacred Harp performance spaces. In addition, various measurement techniques for this type of space are explored and reported.

BackgroundVoice disorders are a significant occupational concern for teachers, whose work relies heavily on vocal communication. These disorders, which include symptoms such as hoarseness, vocal fatigue, and discomfort, can affect both professional performance and quality of life. Teachers are particularly vulnerable due to the demanding nature of their profession, including prolonged speaking hours, large class sizes, and noisy classroom environments. While the prevalence of voice disorders among teachers is well-documented globally, limited data is available from regions like the Aseer region of Saudi Arabia. This study aims to assess the prevalence, identify risk factors, and evaluate the impact of voice disorders among teachers in Aseer, providing a basis for targeted interventions.MethodsA cross-sectional survey of 370 teachers was conducted using the validated Arabic Voice Handicap Index-10 (VHI-10). Data on demographics, vocal symptoms, risk factors, and impacts were collected via an online questionnaire. Statistical analysis included descriptive statistics and Fisher’s exact tests to evaluate associations.ResultsOver 60% of participants reported voice-related symptoms, primarily hoarseness and vocal fatigue. Classroom noise levels, prolonged vocal use, and large class sizes were significant risk factors. Few teachers (5.1%) had a formal diagnosis, and most (75.4%) did not seek treatment. Voice disorders adversely affected teaching performance and student interactions, with a subset reporting work absenteeism and emotional distress.ConclusionsVoice disorders are common among teachers in the Aseer region and have considerable effects on both teaching performance and teachers' overall well-being. Effective preventive strategies, such as vocal hygiene education, noise reduction, and workload adjustments, are essential. Future interventions should be culturally tailored and consider gender-specific needs. Further research is required to explore the underlying health conditions and psychosocial impacts to refine preventive strategies and improve teachers' vocal health and job satisfaction.

The purpose of this study was to describe the university vocal training and vocal health of music educators and music therapists. The participants ( N = 426), music educators ( n = 351) and music therapists ( n = 75), completed a survey addressing demographics, vocal training, voice usage, and vocal health. Both groups reported singing at least 50% of the work day; moreover, music educators complained of vocal fatigue and hoarseness at the end of the week. Music educators expressed concern about their vocal health, due to the unique demands of music instruction and large classes. A majority of participants, particularly instrumental concentration majors, expressed a desire for more career-focused vocal training. Results suggest that additional university training in vocal health could help prevent vocal abuse and misuse among music educators and therapists; furthermore, music educators may be better qualified to promote healthy singing among developing voices.

Journal Article Traveling Home: Sacred Harp Singing and American Pluralism. By Kiri Miller.The Makers of the Sacred Harp. By David Warren Steel with Richard Hulan. Get access Traveling Home: Sacred Harp Singing and American Pluralism. By Kiri Miller. pp. xvi + 245. ( University of Illinois Press, Urbana and Chicago, 2008, $45 hbk, ISBN 978-0-252-03214-1; $25 pbk, ISBN 978-0-252-07757-9.)The Makers of the Sacred Harp. By David Warren Steel with Richard Hulan. pp. xv + 321. ( University of Illinois Press, Urbana and Chicago, 2010, $70 hbk, ISBN 978-0-252-03567-8; $25 pbk, ISBN 978-0-252-07760-9.) Eric Saylor Eric Saylor Drake University Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar Music and Letters, Volume 93, Issue 2, May 2012, Pages 280–282, https://doi.org/10.1093/ml/gcs017 Published: 27 June 2012

A Preliminary Study of Vocal Health Among Collegiate A Cappella Singers

This research investigates the effects of the Speech Level Singing (SLS) technique, a vocal training method, on vocal health, voice control, and performance sustainability. Developed by American vocal coach Seth Riggs, the SLS technique aims to enable singers to produce a more natural and comfortable vocal sound by minimizing strain on the vocal cords. The study evaluates previous research on the SLS technique to highlight its potential advantages over traditional methods in preserving vocal health, enhancing breath and voice control, and achieving a sustainable long-term performance. A literature review and document analysis methods were employed within this framework. The findings indicate that the SLS technique provides singers with the flexibility to produce sounds across a wide vocal range while minimizing pressure on the vocal cords, thereby supporting long-term vocal health. The study also reveals that the SLS technique makes significant contributions to improving voice quality through effective breath control and resonance. This technique facilitates the integration of the natural voice used in speech into singing, enabling singers to feel more secure in their stage performances and to reduce performance anxiety. SLS offers remarkable benefits for vocal health, particularly for singers in fields that demand intensive voice use, such as professional stage arts, musical theater, pop and rock genres. This research underscores the positive impacts of adopting modern and innovative techniques in vocal training on singers’ vocal performances and vocal health. The SLS technique stands out as an alternative method for achieving sustainable and healthy vocal performance in vocal training and inspires future studies on its applicability across various music genres.

Patient Profiling: Determining the Effects of Patient Factors on Vocal Fatigue

A Demographic Study of Professional Belters: Who They Are and What They Do