Traditional Sing

sound. at the Kings Road Park Pavilion: Singing Shape is an exploration of Shape Note singing (also known as Sacred Harp singing), a tradition associated with the deep south and introduced by itinerant music teachers to make the melodies and harmonies accessible to those with no formal musical training. The participants are arranged in a square based on four part harmony for this exclusively a capella form. The result is a wall of vocal sound that is powerful, compelling and intended to be experienced from within the singing group.

Saturday, August 20, 2011 1p Performance
Kings Road Park Pavilion 1000 N Kings Rd West Hollywood, CA

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sound. singing shape

A free workshop in Shape Note singing by Los Angeles composer and musician Jessica Catron starts off this day-long event which features two singing sessions: a “traditional” sing including hymns and traditional songs and an “alternative” sing featuring compositions created specifically for the SASSAS event by Los Angeles experimental composers Ezra Buchla and Laura Steenburge, artists Joyce Lightbody and Stephanie Taylor and SASSAS board member and LAFMS co-founder Joe Potts.

Come and learn as well as participate in a unique, alternative musical language. Utilizing a few shapes instead of basic music notation, the shape note form invites participants to hone in on harmonic structures in large groups, allowing beautiful sounds to materialize among people who have likely never sung together before. The music is easy, the sound is joyously resonant, and all voices and ages are welcome — a willingness to sing is the only requirement.

1:00 Singing Shape workshop lead by Jessica Catron
3:00 Traditional Sing facilitated by Laura Boyd and Rick Russell
5:30 Alternative Sing
6:00 Pot luck dinner in the park

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