We’ve already revealed new compositions, a new music typeface, and new verses and keys… but that’s not all that will be new in The Sacred Harp: 2025 Edition! We have commissioned three new essays, an updated rudiments section, and expanded indexes that will enhance the book’s value as a resource to the singing community.

Three eminent scholars of Sacred Harp singing wrote short essays to introduce the tradition to new singers, provide historical perspective on the tunebook and our music practices, and remind all of us why Sacred Harp singing is such a cherished part of our lives. You can look forward to reading “A Perspective: Sacred Harp and its Traditions,” by Buell Cobb, “Sacred Harp Singing,” by David Warren Steel, and “The Revisions of The Sacred Harp” by Jesse P. Karlsberg.

A selection from the rudiments in The Sacred Harp: 2025 Edition.

The rudiments were completely revised with a focus on creating the most effective teaching aid possible, whether for singing schools or for individual learners. Bringing together the best elements from historical rudiments along with input from respected Sacred Harp singing school teachers, our rudiments team, led by Lauren Bock, developed a resource that will introduce a new generation of Sacred Harp singers to the nuances of our tradition through a clear, fun, and copiously illustrated approach.

The new rudiments feature numerous visual examples to make learning easy.

In addition to the title and first-line indexes, we are adding three new indexes to help singers get the most out of their books: an index of composers and musical sources, an index of authors and text sources, and an index of meters. We are incredibly grateful to the numerous experts in our community we relied on to compile all this information and present it in an easy-to-navigate format, all without adding any pages to the book.

In revising The Sacred Harp cover to cover, the Revision-Music Committee fixed dozens of typos and other errors that crept in over multiple revisions. In addition, we made changes to the verses, musical parts, or keys to a small number of songs.

Information about song changes in The Sacred Harp: 2025 Edition.

These changes were motivated by three main considerations:

• Restoration
  Some changes were made to restore original elements of songs that had been changed in later editions. In four cases, we added back a verse that had been removed in the past. We also restored the keys of ten songs that had originally been published in keys that make more sense to Sacred Harp singers. For instance, “Sing to Me of Heaven” (312t) was written in the key of A minor but was moved to E minor in the James Edition for unknown reasons.
• Legibility
  Other changes were necessitated in order to make a song legible. For example, in a few songs that presented significant engraving challenges, we removed one seldom-used verse in order to fit the music on the page.
• Singability
  Based on committee evaluation and input from Sacred Harp singers, we made some changes to help make songs more singable or enhance their meaning and appeal. These include the addition of an extra verse to two songs, as well as changing the verses used in three songs. We also changed the keys of three tunes that posed challenges to keyers, and we replaced one voice part in one song and removed one voice part in another song.

Verse, Key, and Part Changes

• AMERICA (36t): Verse 2 removed.
• ESTER (37t): Text replaced with text by Samuel Medley, 1782.
  • Awake, my soul, in joyful lays,
    And sing thy great Redeemer’s praise;
    He justly claims a song from me,
    His loving-kindness, O how free!
    
    Though num’rous hosts of mighty foes,
    Though earth and hell my way oppose,
    He safely leads my soul along,
    His loving-kindness, O how strong!
    
    When trouble, like a gloomy cloud,
    Has gathered thick and thundered loud,
    He near my soul has always stood,
    His loving-kindness, O how good!
    
    Soon shall I pass death’s gloomy vale,
    Soon all my mortal pow’rs must fail;
    O may my last expiring breath
    His loving-kindness sing in death!
    
    Then let me mount and soar away
    To that bright world of endless day,
    And sing, with rapture and surprise,
    His loving-kindness in the skies.
• WINDHAM (38b): Key restored from E to F♯.
• I WOULD SEE JESUS (75): Key restored from D♭ to F.
• STAFFORD (78): Text replaced with different verse of text by Isaac Watts, 1719.
  • Hosanna to the King
    Of David’s royal blood!
    Bless Him, ye saints, He comes to bring
    Salvation from your God.
• THE OLD SHIP OF ZION (79): Key restored from E♭ to F.
• BURK (92):
  • Part removed, alto.
  • Key restored from F to G.
• HOLY CITY (101b): Verse 3 replaced with third verse of hymn from Mead’s General Selection, 1807.
  • And what shall be my journey,
    How long I’ll stay below,
    Or what shall be my trials,
    Are not for me to know;
    In ev’ry day of trouble
    I’ll raise my thoughts on high;
    I’ll think of the bright temple,
    And crowns above the sky.
• THE LOVELY STORY (104): Key restored from G to A.
• ECSTASY (106): Key restored from E to F♯.
• INVOCATION (131b): Key changed from G to A.
• LIBERTY (137): Part replaced, alto, with the song’s original alto part by Stephen Jenks, 1800.
• LABAN (147b): Verse 4 restored, by George Heath, 1781.
  • Fight on, my soul, till death
    Shall bring thee to thy God;
    He’ll take thee at thy parting breath
    To His divine abode.
• RESURRECTED (153): Verse 2 added, Arr. S. M. Denson, 1908.
  • My mother’s gone to view that land,
    To wear a starry crown.
• MORNING (163t): Key changed from E to F♯.
• WHITESTOWN (211): Text replaced with text by Isaac Watts, 1719
  • Jesus shall reign where’er the sun
    Does his successive journeys run;
    His kingdom stretch from shore to shore,
    Till moons shall wax and wane no more.
    To Him shall endless prayer be made,
    And praises throng to crown His head;
    His name like sweet perfume shall rise
    With ev’ry morning sacrifice.
• TRAVELING PILGRIM (278b): Key restored from E to G.
• LIVING LAMB (309): Verse 4 restored, by Isaac Watts, 1724.
  • Sure I must fight if I would reign;
    Increase my courage, Lord;
    I’ll bear the toil, endure the pain,
    Supported by Thy word.
• SING TO ME OF HEAVEN (312t): Key restored from E to A.
• MERCY’S FREE (337): Key restored from F to G.
• MURILLO’S LESSON (358):
  • Verse 2 removed.
  • Key restored from E♭ to F.
• PENICK (387): Verse 4 restored, by M. Sikes, 1859.
  • My ceaseless pleasure then shall be,
    Through endless days to come,
    To sing that Jesus died for me
    And range my peaceful home.
• PARTING FRIEND (414): Key changed from G to F.
• INFINITE DAY (446): Verse 2 removed.
• AKIN (472): Verse 2 added by Isaac Watts, 1719.
  • With all my pow’rs of heart and tongue
    I’ll praise my Maker in my song:
• NOVAKOSKI (481): Verse 2 removed.
• THE GREAT DAY (567): Verses 3 and 4 restored, from The Sacred Harp, 1859.
  • I’ve a long time heard that the moon will be bleeding,
    That the moon will be bleeding in that day.
    O the moon will be bleeding in that day,
    O sinner, where will you stand in that day?
    
    I’ve a long time heard that the stars will be falling,
    That the stars will be falling in that day.
    O the stars will be falling in that day,
    O sinner, where will you stand in that day?

We are introducing 113 new songs to The Sacred Harp: 2025 Edition without adding a single page to the book! These statistics show how we accomplished that through efficiencies in typesetting and page layout—in addition to removing some of our lesser-used songs. We will be posting a list of the songs removed soon.

Information about page use and songs removed in The Sacred Harp: 2025 Edition.

• 550 total song pages in the 2025 Edition (+2 more pages of songs over the 1991 Edition).
• 590 total songs in the 2025 Edition (+6.5% increase from the 1991 Edition).
• 101 total pages for new songs in the 2025 Edition:
  • 2 pages recovered through front/back matter efficiency,
  • 13 pages recovered through engraving efficiency,
  • 86 pages of songs removed.
• 113 new songs are in the 2025 Edition (new songs comprise 19% of book).
• 60 new songs were in the 1991 Edition (new songs comprised 11% of book).
• 77 songs removed from the 1991 Edition to make the 2025 Edition (14%).
• 45 songs removed from the 1971 Edition to make the 1991 Edition (8%).
• The 77 songs removed to create the 2025 Edition represent just 3% of all lessons sung from the 1991 Edition.