Pacific Northwest Sacred Harp Singers

This is the website for Sacred Harp singing in Washington State (and a bit beyond). Sacred Harp singing is a traditional American form of community singing, without instruments, in four vocal parts, using the tunebook The Sacred Harp which is printed in shapenotes. By this is meant that the noteheads in the music appear as one of four different shapes (the simple oval, a square, a right-sided triangle, and a diamond).

The Sacred Harp was first published in 1844 (missed being the first to use the shapenote technique by about 46 years), and has been continuously in print since then. Any type, quality, or range of voice will find a comfortable and important place with us. If you are new to this and wondering what it is all about, feel free to drop by to listen or, better yet, to join in. Beginning singers are always welcome and musical reading ability is not a requirement. At a Sacred Harp singing, there is no admission charge, no choir director, no rehearsal, no performance, no membership -- just singing that many describe as the most powerful and most intense musical experience of their lives!

Doug Plummer's videos of us are a great introduction. There are two and you'll want to watch both. 
"Northwest Stories: Shape-note Singing" which is at  http://youtu.be/t9yPPjabr6g 
"Sacred Cow Harmogenizers" which is at  http://youtu.be/x0LCfdZrYrQ

[Or Google YourNWFolklife. Choose the Youtube option in the list. When there, select videos, hit the search magnifying glass and search for the above named videos.]

Another video, this one 5 minutes long, features Kevin Barrans and has shots of our local singing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LVYYoxSYqIk&feature=youtu.be