Shaped-Note Singing Thrives in Blue Ridge

Shaped-note singing, a new form of sacred music, swept through the Blue Ridge Mountains at the dawn of the 19th century, using triangles, ovals and even half-moons to correspond to the notes of the familiar do-re-mi-fal-sol musical scale. In the mountains of North Carolina, shaped note singing still thrives in many communities. The Etowah singing, near Hendersonville, has been going on for more than a 100 years, and is held in May and September. In Canton, singers gather at the Morning Star Methodist Church on Old Folks Day, the second Sunday in September.