"Join in a Song with Sweet Accord" Creating Community and Maintaining Harmony among Sacred Harp Singers

Jessamyn Doan

Date of Award

2008

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelors

Department

Humanities

First Advisor

Miles, Stephen

Keywords

Sacred Harp, Habitus, Music

Area of Concentration

Music

Abstract

Participation in a Sacred Harp singing is an active engagement with a living tradition that is governed by mutual understanding and a common body of knowledge. Much of this is articulated by the rich oral tradition, and is actively taught to newcomers and young singers, but acting simultaneously is an unarticulated set of principles that all abide by, dictating what must not be said or done, in order to allow the tradition and community to flourish. In chapter 1, I describe in detail my active engagement with Sacred Harp singing, and lay out the specifics of the practice. From a morning prayer, to a shared potluck lunch at noon, there are several key demarcations of time that are significant in terms of understanding the practice. In chapter 2, I outline the history of the living tradition and how its evolution shaped Sacred Harp practice today. As it was forced to adapt to changing musical tastes in the United States, Sacred Harp singing created for itself a home in the American South, where it has stayed rooted ever since. In chapter 3, the focus is on the Sacred Harp community. It is created by the actions singers undertake together and the emphasis on community at the national level, understood by all as a top priority. Finally, in chapter 4, I bring in Bourdieu�s concept of the habitus to explain the lack of conflict in this broad community. Looking at how unarticulated principles heavily influence the actions on a Singing Day helps to make clear how it would be possible for a community like this to exist without the need for explicit structures to prevent conflict.

Rights

This bibliographic record is available under the Creative Commons CC0 public domain dedication. The New College of Florida, as creator of this bibliographic record, has waived all rights to it worldwide under copyright law, including all related and neighboring rights, to the extent allowed by law.

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