#79 Attend the services of the following churches: St. Mary's Episcopal Church

Tuesday night I had the really cool experience of doing shape note singing at St. Mary's.  Don't think it was my awesome idea--I didn't even know what shape note singing was.  What?  Shapes in music?  Yup, that's exactly what it is.  They make the different notes look like different shapes.

It was developed to help congregational singing in the early 1800s.  I can just picture someone singing really off-key in church one day, and bam!  It inspired the person sitting next to him to create a new notation.

And it caught on!  There are shape note singers throughout the US, more concentrated in the South.  Although the music is mostly religious, it isn't just religious people that enjoy singing it.  It's quite a style!  Self-described "full bore, guts on the floor singing."  Quite refreshing to sing loudly!  Sometimes I get frustrated that the singing at church is so quiet.  I loved this style.

So anyway, my really cool friends Lisa and Jared told me about this and we went!  Naive me thought that we were going to sit in a pew and listen to them sing.  NAY--you jump in and join them!

Lisa singing the soprano part

Jared holding down the basses.  We sit in a square to sing--each part forming a different side of the square, and the tenors always have the melody.

Post-singing joy

They have stained glass windows!  Made my night!

Did I take a video, you ask?  Why yes, yes I did.  My new friends were a little reticent to be filmed, but kindly obliged.  I assumed this would be the same version Amazing Grace that I've always sang, but it was not!  The group as a whole didn't know this song quite as well, so it wasn't as "full bore, guts on the floor" as some of our other songs were.  but you'll get the picture.  :)