Jeremy Shipp, of Knoxville, first became interested in shape note singing after hearing Alan Lomax’s field recordings of a singing in Alabama. While a student at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, in the early 2000s, he began singing with the old harp singers of East Tennessee. He attended Kathleen Mavournin’s Spring singing school held at the Blount County Library. After attending the annual Boogertown singing at Oldham’s Creek Missionary Baptist Church, he became deeply immersed in the tradition and has been attending regular singings ever since. The Epworth old harp singers practice monthly at the Laurel Theater in Knoxville, and Jeremy sang bass next to Odis Abbott until his death in 2014. Jeremy learned to sing by imitating him. Odis grew up singing shape notes and lived in Cades Cove until his family was evicted upon the formation of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Odis gave Jeremy singing pointers and encourage him saying, “When you feel it, you just push it!”
Old harp is East Tennessee’s tradition of community shape note singing. Singers use facsimile editions of the New Harp of Columbia (NHoC) songbook, compiled by an East Tennessee singing-schoolmaster named Swan in 1848 and revised by him and M.L. Swan in 1867. This shape note tradition uses seven shapes, making it distinct from other traditions such as Sacred Harp. Old Harp is unique to Tennessee and sung only in Sevier, Blount, Knox, Greene, and Anderson Counties. At a singing gathering, the singers are arranged in a “hollow square” with four sections (treble, alto, tenor or “lead”, and bass) each facing one another. Participants take turns standing in the middle of the square to lead a song of their choice. The singers will first sing the “shapes” together and then follow with the words.
The old harp is one of Tennessee’s oldest traditions, it practitioners are few. Jeremy notes the endangered nature of the old harp tradition, counting the number of people who actively sing it in the low dozens. He writes, “My sense is that the wider East Tennessee community is unaware of the treasure that old harp is, sitting in the midst of them; and that this is due to the smallness of old harp’s presence.” Jeremy explains, “Old harp is important because it is the only active use of the first style of music published in Tennessee, that of early-to mid-19th century shape note tune books. Other shape note tune books than the NHoC were published and used in Tennessee, but none have survived with active use today.”
Jeremy is passionate about teaching old harp to new audiences as well as his children. He has taught two singing schools and organizes several of the local monthly and annual singings. He calls old harp “inherently a community art” due to its participatory nature and its culture of valuing heartiness of voice rather than skillfulness of voice. The best way to experience this tradition is to participate.
As part of the Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Program this year, apprentices James Shipp and Verity Shipp will learn from their father and improve their shape note singing abilities. They have been attending old harp singings for most of their life and acknowledge that the formality of the program brings a recognition of their participation in the tradition. Through a deep study with their father, they will learn to lead tunes, confidently sing their parts, and sight-read any old harp tune. Verity explains, “My goals are to learn old harp thoroughly and to know all the songs.” James writes, “Shape note singing is beautiful and very few people know what it is and how to sing it.” Through the apprenticeship this year, the family also plans to continue to compose new tunes in the “old harp” tradition.
