The tenors who carried the melody sat together on one side, the bass on another, the treble on the third side and finally the altos completed the square. With the exception of the bass singers, men and women together sang the other parts. The singing master took his place in the middle of the square and set the tempo and established the pitch with a tuning fork. First the singers spoke the notes until they felt comfortable to sing them. Eventually there were some old folk tunes added to the books.
Voices rang out lustily, often accompanied with foot-stamping and arms swinging.
The singings were embraced by the South, and they became a standard part of camp meetings and all-day social gatherings. They were so popular that there were at least 21 Southern shape-note hymnals on the market in the 1800s. There has been a rebirth of singing conventions or singing schools across the nation today from Maine to California. In many places Vermont, Tennessee, Georgia and Alabama the custom never stopped. Dorothy Copus Brush is a Fairfield Glade resident whose column is published each Wednesday in the Crossville Chronicle.