We started singing in May, 2009 with three singers (1 alto, 2 basses) and are now (August, 2010) five regular singers, at least one voice on each part, with a wider circle of singers who drop in occasionally. Out-of-town Sacred Harp singers who happen to be visiting Los Angeles also attend from time to time. We have been as many as eleven singers in one session.

We sing "socially" -- not for performance, but in the pre-modern American fashion, singing as a social good, an end-in-itself.

This makes it a good learning situation, because there's no performance pressure. It's not about perfection. It's just the way folks passed the time before there Mr. Edison invented the phonograph.

Although it's not about perfection or performance, we are serious about developing sight-singing skills, about hitting the right now, about listening to each other's voices and adjusting our own until the angels grow jealous of us. Some of us sing in choirs elsewhere.

In terms of organization, this is a zero-cash flow, "tribal" situation based on volunteerism by the regular singers. Decisions by consensus. Vistors welcome.

We take turns calling songs from the 1991 Sacred Harp, the most widely used songbook for social singing in America today. We try to sing about 12 songs the first hour, then a short break, and 8 or more songs the second hour. If there are five singers, about 4 songs per person.

Everyone has an equal turn to call a song. This is an important custom for us.

By "social singing" we mean: (1) We don't perform. (2) We're there to sing, not talk; to the degree that musical sociability creates a desire for conversational sociability, that can be accomplished outside of the singing hours. (3) We "leave religion at the door"; i.e., we're singing mostly religious songs from a book that has been continuously in print since 1844, so to an outsider it looks & sounds like a prayer meeting, but we never discuss religion. It's like taking Yoga class, doing the breathing exercises, but without studying Hinduism. We come to sing. The religion that matters is getting the notes right, musical hospitality, and listening to each other's voices.

When we say everybody has an equal chance ("musical human right") to call a song, this includes people visiting for the very first time. Suggestions below.

If you are a new singer and you want to sing through your part separately, we can do this is by request as necessary (not just when it's your turn).

If you just want to listen, that's okay. We prefer that you pretend you are a singer & sit among us, but you can also sit outside the circle.

We have copies of Sacred Harp to lend, and you can also purchase one of these. Songbooks cost $20 each. Then you can keep a list of favorite songs in the inside covers. Everybody uses a different method of favorite song management.

It's really not about performance. We've been singing since May 2009 without giving a single performance. No performances are scheduled. We don't even have any songs polished and "ready to go" for the sake of making a good impression. If you want to perform, plenty of choirs in Los Angeles will be glad to have you as a member, and whenever your Thursday nights are free, you're always welcome to drop by and sing with us.

If you know of a better way to cultivate the pure human voice, at no cost, on an erratic, drop-in basis, give me a phone call (310) 410-9033 -- I'd like to know.

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Santa Monica Shape Note Learner's Group
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Contact: David Olson (310) 410-9033 for more details.
Singing location: 4427 Overland Avenue, Culver City, California

We're actually about one mile from Ballona Creek.
Culver City Bus Line #3

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