Pitching Sacred Harp Music
In Sacred Harp music, it is the custom to sing a song in a key chosen for the moment, rather than the one notated in the hymnbook. Pitching (also: keying) is the act of finding such a key. A person to whom this task has been entrusted is called a pitcher or keyer.
Read more about Pitching Sacred Harp Music: Why Pitchers Are Needed, The Pitcher's Task, Pitch Pipes, Tuning Forks, Etc., The Value of Skilled Pitchers, History
Famous quotes containing the words sacred, harp and/or music:
“As for the sacred Scriptures, or Bibles of mankind, who in this town can tell me even their titles? Most men do not know that any nation but the Hebrews have had a scripture.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“The harp is an insipid instrument—no good for dancing, feasting, or marching, only for sitting primly in a parlor or on a cloud.”
—Mason Cooley (b. 1927)
“If mass communications blend together harmoniously, and often unnoticeably, art, politics, religion, and philosophy with commercials, they bring these realms of culture to their common denominator—the commodity form. The music of the soul is also the music of salesmanship. Exchange value, not truth value, counts.”
—Herbert Marcuse (1898–1979)