Singing school on Friday
CULLMAN, Ala. – This Saturday and Sunday, July 12-13, Cullman will celebrate what has become a unique tradition in Alabama: the state’s last regular courthouse singing convention. Singers from all over the state, across the country, and even overseas will fill the Cullman County Courthouse’s district courtroom for the 131st installment of a local crossroads of faith and arts that began in 1893. Singers, listeners and the public are invited to attend.
Once a common occurrence in courthouses all over the South, Cullman’s is now the only regularly scheduled event of its kind in the nation. Factors ranging from shifting cultural tastes and lack of interest in old-fashioned things to concerns about church-state separation led to a decline in courthouse singings over the years. Though it may not draw crowds of thousands like it used to, the tradition has managed to stay alive in Cullman.
What happens at a singing convention?
Well, singing, of course! If you grew up in a church with hymnals, you’ll probably be familiar with a lot of the music, though the style of performance might be a little different. Convention singing is unaccompanied by instruments, and focuses on rich four-part vocal harmonies. Songs can be joyful, loud, and boisterous–described by one observer as “organized hollerin,’” or dark and soulful.
Convention singers follow a long-standing form, singing from a modern edition of a songbook that dates back to the 1840s in a style known by several names:
- Shape/Shaped Note Singing – The notes in the sheet music have different shapes depending on the note in the scale: round, square, triangular.
- Fa-So-La/Fasola Singing – The names given to three note shapes. When the singers warm up at the beginning of a song, they’re not singing in a foreign language or speaking in tongues; they’re singing the notes by name.
- Sacred Harp – from the title of the most popular songbook used
Singers sit in a square, grouped by vocal part-soprano, alto, tenor, bass – with the director standing in the center. The director changes from song to song, so if your favorite song is in the book, you may have a chance to both request and lead it. It’s not rehearsed, and singers of all skill and experience levels are welcome, even if they’re not familiar with things like shaped notes.
Following the music to Alabama
At a previous convention, fa-so-la veteran Linda Booth told The Tribune what drew her and husband Tom Booth across the country from California to Alabama:
“Over the years, my husband and I flew to singing conventions in several states, but in 2010 we came to Alabama for the first time. The courthouse convention in Cullman was one of our first Alabama singings, and I’ll never forget how we were treated as family that very first day. Right then, we pitched our tent towards Alabama. There is a refreshing way of making people welcome here; a genuine, family-oriented way of living that seems to be disappearing in so much of America. Alabamian singers reflect this, thus drawing singers from all parts of the world to come back and visit again and again.”
Want to learn how?
If you are interested in shaped note singing but don’t know how, you will still be welcome to join the singing on Saturday and Sunday. All skill levels, including zero, are welcome. But if you want to get a little jump start, the Fa So La Mini Singing School will be held the evening before the convention, on Friday, July 11, 2025, from 5-7 p.m. at Mt. Olive at Providence Primitive Baptist Church, 50 County Road1428, Vinemont, 5 miles north of Alabama Highway 157. All skill levels are welcome, and loaner books will be available to those who do not have one.
At a glance
131st annual Cullman County Courthouse Singing Convention
July 12-13, 2025, starting at 9:30 a.m. Saturday with a potluck lunch around noon, and 9:30 a.m. Sunday
Cullman County Courthouse, 500 Second Ave. SW (Hwy. 31) in Cullman
Second floor district courtroom
For convention veterans: Bring your 1991 Denson book.
For newcomers: They have books you can borrow.
For information, call Tom Booth 559-709-0212 or Butch White 256-347-6170
