William walker southern harmony biography books

Shape note hymn and tune book compiled by William Walker

For the composition by William Duckworth, see Southern Harmony (Duckworth).

For the Black Crowes album, see The Southern Harmony and Musical Companion.

The Southern Harmony, and Musical Companion is a shape note hymn and tune book compiled by William Walker, first published in 1835.

The book is notable for having originated or popularized several hymn tunes found in modern hymnals and shape note collections like The Sacred Harp.

The music and its notation

The roots of Southern Harmony singing, like the Sacred Harp, are found in the American colonial era, when singing schools convened to provide instruction in choral singing, especially for use in church services.

This practice remained popular with Baptists in the South long after it fell from use in other regions.

In 1801, a book called The Easy Instructor^[a] by William Smith and William Little was published for the use of