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50-567: Although the tune was first associated with Psalm 134 in the Genevan Psalter , the melody receives its current name from an association with the 100th Psalm , in a translation by William Kethe entitled " All People that on Earth do Dwell ". The melody is also sung to various other lyrics, including the Common Doxology (" Praise God From Whom All Blessings Flow ") and various German Lutheran chorales. In that latter respect it

100-623: A "dialogue", as the priests and Levites who served in the Temple are enjoined in verses 1 and 2 to spend their time during the night watch in acts of devotion rather than small talk; and in verse 3 these devotees are urged to pray for the one who enjoined them in verse 1 – either the high priest or a captain of the night guard. A note in the Jerusalem Bible suggests that the dialogue involves pilgrims and temple ministers. Similarly, Baptist preacher Charles Spurgeon posits that verse 1

150-416: A minor key is always La, followed by Mi, Fa, etc. The first three notes of any major scale – fa, sol, la – are each a tone apart. The fourth to sixth notes are also a tone apart and are also fa, sol, la. The seventh and eighth notes, being separated by a semitone, are indicated mi-fa. This means that just four shapenotes can adequately reflect the "feeling" of the whole scale. The system illustrated above

200-594: A popular teaching device in American singing schools during the 19th century. Shapes were added to the noteheads in written music to help singers find pitches within major and minor scales without the use of more complex information found in key signatures on the staff . Shape notes of various kinds have been used for over two centuries in a variety of music traditions, mostly sacred music but also secular, originating in New England , practiced primarily in

250-522: A shift from major to minor while maintaining the same tonic pitch. It was reprinted in many of the early shape note tunebooks, but not in the Sacred Harp (1844), in which Jeremiah Ingalls 's "Christian Song" is the only song that modulates (in this case, from D minor to D major). As noted above, the syllables of shape-note systems greatly antedate the shapes. The practice of singing music to syllables designating pitch goes back to about AD 1000 with

300-432: A variety of songs from 18th-century classics to 20th-century gospel music . Thus today denominational songbooks printed in seven shapes probably constitute the largest branch of the shape-note tradition. In addition, nondenominational community singings are also intermittently held which feature early- to mid-20th century seven-shape gospel music such as Stamps-Baxter hymnals or Heavenly Highway . In these traditions,

350-438: Is a four-shape system; six of the notes of the scale are grouped in pairs assigned to one syllable/shape combination. The ascending scale using the fa, so, la, fa, so, la, mi, fa syllables represent a variation of the hexachord system introduced by the 11th century monk Guido of Arezzo , who originally introduced a six-note scale using the syllables ut, re, mi, fa, sol, la. The four syllable variation of Guido's original system

400-766: Is part of the daily Catholic service Compline , for which settings in Latin were composed by composers such as Tomás Luis de Victoria and Orlande de Lassus . It is frequently used in Anglican Evening Prayer , with settings by John Dowland and Benjamin Rogers , among others. The following table shows the Hebrew text of the Psalm with vowels alongside an English translation based upon the JPS 1917 translation (now in

450-407: Is the first Southern shape-note tunebook, and was soon followed by Alexander Johnson's Tennessee Harmony (1818), Allen D. Carden's The Missouri Harmony (1820) and many others. By the middle of the 19th century, the "fa so la" system of four syllables had acquired a major rival, namely the seven-syllable "do re mi" system. Thus, music compilers began to add three more shapes to their books to match

500-681: The Northern Harmony . Of a hybrid nature, in terms of reviving Ananias Davisson 's Kentucky Harmony but taking the further step of incorporating songs from 70 other early tunebooks, along with new compositions, is the Shenandoah Harmony (2013). Thomas B. Malone has specialized in the revival of works by Jeremiah Ingalls, and has published a four-shape edition of Ingalls' 1805 The Christian Harmony . Malone organizes an annual mid-July singing in Newbury, Vermont, where Ingalls

550-482: The Southern United States for many years, and now experiencing a renaissance in other locations as well. Shape notes have also been called character notes and patent notes , respectively, and buckwheat notes and dunce notes , pejoratively. The idea behind shape notes is that the parts of a vocal work can be learned more quickly and easily if the music is printed in shapes that match up with

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600-475: The kohanim (members of the Jewish priestly class) who bestow the priestly blessing upon the congregation in the synagogue with raised hands. Before pronouncing the blessing, the kohanim must ritually wash their hands. They do not do so themselves; rather, the handwashing is performed by members of the levitical class , "who themselves are holy". If a Levite is not present in the synagogue, a firstborn son pours

650-567: The public domain ). Nonconformist minister Matthew Henry notes that, as the last of the Songs of Ascents, this psalm serves as a fitting conclusion to the singing of all the Songs of Ascents in the Temple in Jerusalem which took place by the day, as it exhorts "the ministers to go on with their work in the night when the solemnities of the day were over". The psalm could also be interpreted as

700-751: The ritual washing of the hands before breaking bread, some say verse 2 prior to the blessing of al netilat yadayim . The psalm, mentioning "night", forms part of the Benedictine rite of the daily evening prayer Compline . After the Reform of the Roman Breviary by Pope Pius X it was only used on Sundays and Solemnities. In the Liturgy of the Hours it is part of Compline on the eve of Sunday and Solemnities. The Book of Common Prayer translation of

750-436: The solfège syllables with which the notes of the musical scale are sung. For instance, in the four-shape tradition used in the Sacred Harp and elsewhere, the notes of a C major scale are notated and sung as follows: A skilled singer experienced in a shape note tradition has developed a fluent triple mental association, which links a note of the scale, a shape, and a syllable. This association can be used to help in reading

800-834: The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (Boston, May 10, 1876). Psalm 134 Psalm 134 is the 134th psalm from the Book of Psalms , a part of the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Old Testament , beginning in English in the King James Version : "Behold, bless ye the L ORD , all ye servants of the L ORD ". Its Latin title is " Ecce nunc benedicite Dominum ". It is the last of the fifteen Songs of Ascents ( Shir Hama'alot ), and one of

850-759: The Bay Psalm Book was printed with the initials of four-note syllables (fa, sol, la, me) underneath the staff. In his book, Tufts substituted the initials of the four-note syllables on the staff in place of note heads, and indicated rhythm by punctuation marks to the right of the letters. Compositions of the " Yankee tunesmiths " ("First New England School") began to appear in 1770, prior to the advent of shape notes, which first appeared in The Easy Instructor by William Little and William Smith in 1801 in Philadelphia . Little and Smith introduced

900-536: The Genevan Psalter are a paraphrase of Psalm 134: Or, in English translation: You faithful servants of the Lord, sing out his praise with one accord, while serving him with all your might and keeping vigil through the night. Unto his house lift up your hand and to the Lord your praises send. May God who made the earth and sky bestow his blessings from on high. Old 100th is commonly used to sing

950-594: The Lord , for choir a cappella in the 17th century. Malcolm Hill composed a setting in English for mixed choir and organ in 1996, titled Meditation on Psalm 134 . Heinrich Schütz composed a metred paraphrase of Psalm 134 in German, "Den Herren lobt mit Freuden", SWV 239, for the Becker Psalter , published first in 1628. Shape note Shape notes are a musical notation designed to facilitate congregational and social singing . The notation became

1000-597: The Lord in verse 2 with the practice of lifting the cup of wine with both hands for the recital of the Birkat Hamazon (Grace after Meals). The midrash further connects this verse to the Priestly Blessing , as Rabbi Simeon ben Pazzi says that a Kohen who has not ritually washed his hands may not lift them to invoke the Priestly Blessing. The Zohar also explains verse 2 as referring to

1050-784: The Sun ," though it is most commonly sung by itself as a doxology . The traditional text is: Praise God, from Whom all blessings flow; Praise Him, all creatures here below; Praise Him above, ye heavenly host; Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. In the United States, this version is particularly emblematic of Mainline Protestant churches, and often evokes nostalgia among churchgoers. Different versions of that text are also widely used, including nontrinitarian and gender neutral variations. The melody can be used for any hymn text in long meter , that is, with four lines of eight syllables in iambic feet . The hymn From all that dwell below

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1100-421: The choir will also sing in the temperament of the instrument rather than the just intonation of the human voice. Modulation is sometimes said to be problematic for shape-note systems, since the shapes employed for the original key of the piece no longer match the scale degrees of the new key; but the ability to use of sharp and flat symbols along with shape notes is a matter of the range of sorts available to

1150-422: The contents of this psalm to several Jewish practices. Rabbi Yochanan says that "servants of the Lord who stand in the house of the Lord at night" mentioned in verse 1 refers to those who engage in nighttime Torah study , which God considers in the same light "as if they occupied themselves with the priest's service in the house of the Lord". The midrash connects the lifting of the hands in preparation for blessing

1200-682: The custom of "singing the notes" (syllables) is generally preserved only during the learning process at singing schools and singing may be to an instrumental accompaniment, typically a piano. The seven-shape system is also still used at regular public singings of 19th-century songbooks of a similar type to the Sacred Harp , such as The Christian Harmony and the New Harp of Columbia . Such singings are common in Georgia, North Carolina, Tennessee, Mississippi, and Alabama, and generally preserve

1250-757: The extra syllables. Numerous seven-shape notations were devised. Jesse B. Aikin was the first to produce a book with a seven-shape note system, and he vigorously defended his "invention" and his patent. The system used in Aikin's 1846 Christian Minstrel eventually became the standard. This owes much to the influential Ruebush & Kieffer Publishing Company adopting Aikin's system around 1876. Two books that have remained in continuous (though limited) use, William Walker 's Christian Harmony and M. L. Swan's New Harp of Columbia , are still available. These books use seven-shape systems devised by Walker and Swan, respectively. Although seven-shape books may not be as popular as in

1300-459: The four-shape system shown above, intended for use in singing schools . In 1803 Andrew Law published The Musical Primer , which used slightly different shapes: a square indicated fa and a triangle la , while sol and mi were the same as in Little and Smith. Additionally, Law's invention was more radical than Little and Smith's in that he dispensed with the use of the staff altogether, letting

1350-698: The lyrics that begin "All People That on Earth Do Dwell," Psalm 100 , a version that originated in the Anglo-Genevan Psalter (1561) and is attributed to the Scottish clergyman William Kethe . Kethe was in exile at Geneva at this time, as the Scottish Reformation was only just beginning. The first verse is as follows: All people that on earth do dwell, Sing to the Lord with cheerful voice; Him serve with mirth, His praise forth tell; Come ye before Him and rejoice. This version

1400-469: The motet Ecce nunc benedicite Dominum for seven voices a cappella , using a wide range from low bass to very high soprano. John Dowland supplied a setting in English, "Behold and have regard", to the collection The Whole Booke of Psalmes with works by ten composers, published in 1592 by Thomas Este. Benjamin Rogers set the version in the English Book of Common Prayer , Behold, now praise

1450-466: The music. When a song is first sung by a shape note group, they normally sing the syllables (reading them from the shapes) to solidify their command over the notes. Next, they sing the same notes to the words of the music. The syllables and notes of a shape note system are relative rather than absolute; they depend on the key of the piece. The first note of a major key always has the triangular Fa note, followed (ascending) by Sol, La, etc. The first note of

1500-614: The past, there are still a great number of churches in the American South, in particular Southern Baptists , Primitive Baptists , almost all of the non-instrumental Churches of Christ , some Free Methodists , Mennonite , some Amish , United Pentecostals , and United Baptists in the Appalachian regions of West Virginia, Ohio and Kentucky, that regularly use seven-shape songbooks in Sunday worship. These songbooks may contain

1550-524: The prevailing Catholic practice at the time in which sacred texts were chanted in Latin by the clergy only. Calvinist musicians including Bourgeois supplied many new melodies and adapted others from sources both sacred and secular. The final version of this psalter was completed in 1562. Calvin intended the melodies to be sung in plainsong during church services, but harmonized versions were provided for singing at home. The original lyrics set to this tune in

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1600-594: The psalm consists of four verses: In the Church of Ireland and other churches in the Anglican Communion , this psalm (listed as Ecce Nunc ) is also listed as a canticle . Among the hymns which are based on Psalm 134 is "Come, all you servants of the Lord", which Arlo D. Duba wrote in 1984 to the melody Old Hundredth . Tomás Luis de Victoria set the psalm in Latin, Ecce nunc benedicite , for double choir . Flemish composer Orlande de Lassus wrote

1650-767: The seven-shape note system. The four-shape tradition that currently has the greatest number of participants is Sacred Harp singing. But there are many other traditions that are still active or even enjoying a resurgence of interest. Among the four-shape systems, the Southern Harmony has remained in continuous use at one singing in Benton, Kentucky , and is now experiencing a small amount of regrowth. The current reawakening of interest in shape note singing has also created new singings using other recently moribund 19th-century four-shape songbooks, such as The Missouri Harmony , as well as new books by modern composers, such as

1700-509: The shapes be the sole means of expressing pitch. Little and Smith followed traditional music notation in placing the note heads on the staff, in place of the ordinary oval note heads. In the end, it was the Little/Smith system that won out, and there is no hymnbook used today that employs the Law system. Some copies of The Easy Instructor, Part II (1803) included a statement, on the verso of

1750-812: The singing school custom of "singing the notes". The seven-shape (Aikin) system is commonly used by the Mennonites and Brethren . Numerous songbooks are printed in shaped notes for this market. They include Christian Hymnal , the Christian Hymnary , Hymns of the Church , Zion's Praises , Pilgrim's Praises , the Church Hymnal , Silver Gems in Song , the Mennonite Hymnal , and Harmonia Sacra . Some African-American churches use

1800-522: The skies , a paraphrasing of Psalm 117 by Isaac Watts with the Doxology as the final verse, is commonly sung to the tune. In the Sacred Harp and other shape note singing traditions, the tune is sung with the text "O Come, Loud Anthems Let Us Sing," a metrical paraphrase of Psalm 95 from Tate and Brady 's A New Version of the Psalms of David. The popular Hawaiian version Hoʻonani i ka Makua mau

1850-406: The song " Do-Re-Mi " from The Sound of Music ). A few books (e.g. "The Good Old Songs" by C. H. Cayce) present the older seven-note syllabification of "do, re, mi, fa, so, la, si, do". In the seven-shape system invented by Jesse B. Aikin , the notes of a C major scale would be notated and sung as follows: There are other seven-shape systems. A controlled study on the usefulness of shape notes

1900-462: The students taught with shape notes were also far more likely to pursue musical activities later on in their education. Many forms of music in the common practice period employ modulation , that is, a change of key in mid-piece. Since the 19th century, most choral music has employed modulation, and since the key change is easy for instruments but difficult for singers, the new tonality is usually established by instrumental accompaniment; accordingly,

1950-709: The three Songs of Ascents consisting of only three verses. The New King James Version entitles this psalm "Praising the Lord in His House at Night". This psalm is Psalm 133 in the slightly different numbering system of the Greek Septuagint and Latin Vulgate versions of the Bible. The psalm forms a regular part of Jewish , Catholic , Lutheran , Anglican and other Protestant liturgies. It has been set to music often and paraphrased in hymns. The short psalm

2000-438: The title page, in which John Connelly (whose name is given in other sources as Conly, Connolly, and Coloney) grants permission to Little and Smith to make use in their publications of the shape notes to which he claimed the rights. Little and Smith did not themselves claim credit for the invention, but said instead that the notes were invented around 1790 by John Connelly of Philadelphia , Pennsylvania. Andrew Law asserted that he

2050-561: The typographer and musical preferences. The development of musical preferences is partly documented by surviving copies of B.F. White's Organ from the 1850s. Justin Morgan 's "Judgment Anthem", which first appeared in shapes in Little and Smith's The Easy Instructor (1801), appears to shift keys (and key signatures) from E minor to E♭ major, then back to E minor before concluding in E♭ major. Morgan, however, may be supposed to have intended simply

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2100-661: The water, since he too is called "holy". Psalm 134 is recited following the Shabbat afternoon prayer between Sukkot and Shabbat Hagadol (the Shabbat before Passover ). In the Siddur Avodas Yisrael , the entire psalm is recited before the evening prayer on weekdays. The psalm is also recited in full before engaging in Torah study . Verses 1 and 2 are part of the penitential poetry of Selichot . During

2150-556: The work of Guido of Arezzo . Other early work in this area includes the cipher notation of Jean-Jacques Rousseau (18th century), and the tonic sol-fa of Sarah Anna Glover and John Curwen (19th century). American forerunners to shape notes include the 9th edition of the Bay Psalm Book (Boston), and An Introduction to the Singing of Psalm Tunes in a Plaine & Easy Method by Reverend John Tufts . The 9th edition of

2200-503: Was carried out in the 1950s by George H. Kyme with an experimental population consisting of fourth- and fifth-graders living in California. Kyme took care to match his experimental and control groups as closely as possible for ability, quality of teacher, and various other factors. He found that the students taught with shape notes learned to sight read significantly better than those taught without them. Kyme additionally found that

2250-451: Was prominent in 17th century England, and entered the US in the 18th century. Shortly afterward, shapes were invented to represent the syllables. (see below). The other important systems are seven-shape systems, which give a different shape and syllable to every note of the scale. Such systems use as their syllables the note names "do, re, mi, fa, so, la, ti, do" (familiar to most people due to

2300-482: Was recited by the festival pilgrims leaving the temple in the predawn darkness; seeing the guards with their lamps on the temple wall, they bid farewell to these loyal caretakers of the sanctuary. In return, the priests call out their blessing for the departing pilgrims in verse 3. Spurgeon extrapolates from this the need for congregants to pray for those who minister to them, and for ministers to pronounce blessings on their congregations. The Midrash Tehillim connects

2350-491: Was sung at the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953, with harmonization and arrangement by the composer Ralph Vaughan Williams . A hymn commonly sung to Old 100th is "Praise God, from Whom All Blessings Flow," using the text often referred to as the Doxology , written in 1674 by Thomas Ken , a bishop in the Church of England . This hymn was originally the final verse of a longer hymn entitled " Awake, My Soul, and With

2400-531: Was the inventor of shape notes. Shape notes proved popular in America, and quickly a wide variety of hymnbooks were prepared making use of them. The shapes were eventually extirpated in the northeastern U.S. by a so-called "better music" movement, headed by Lowell Mason . But in the South, the shapes became well entrenched, and multiplied into a variety of traditions. Ananias Davisson 's Kentucky Harmony (1816)

2450-448: Was translated by Hiram Bingham I and is published in hymnals. The tune first appeared in the Genevan Psalter, coupled with French metrical text for Psalm 134. Over the years, the tune was sometimes rhythmically modified. Below it is as set by Johann Sebastian Bach in the final movement of his cantata Herr Gott, dich loben alle wir (BWV 130). "Old Hundred" was the first work transmitted by telephone during Graham Bell first demo at

2500-559: Was used by Johann Sebastian Bach as a cantus firmus in his chorale cantata Herr Gott, dich loben alle wir (BWV 130) . The Genevan Psalter was compiled over a number of years in the Swiss city of Geneva , a center of Protestant activity during the Reformation , in response to the teaching of John Calvin that communal singing of psalms in the vernacular language is a foundational aspect of church life. This contrasted with

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