Tone Quality
Most of the elements of singing noted above could in principle be notated in the printed music. Tone quality, however, is unnotated and is determined by custom in virtually all musical traditions.
One element of the tone quality of traditional Sacred Harp singers that can be clearly asserted is that they never use vibrato. However, this in itself says little about the rather distinctive sound that traditional singers produce. Subjectively, Sacred Harp bass sections (generally all male) tend to sound booming. Male tenors and trebles produce a powerful sound, often slightly nasal or "covered" in tone. Alto sections (generally all female) sound brassy; Marini refers to a "laser-like chest tone quality". The higher-voiced women tend to "float" their voices, blending well into the whole. As a result, Sacred Harp singing tends to be dominated in volume by the male tenors. In this respect its sound is quite different from that of ordinary mixed choruses, which at loud volume tend to be dominated by their sopranos.
All parts are sung loudly. Often, individual singers possess very powerful voices and stand out from the group.
Read more about this topic: Performance Practice Of Sacred Harp Music
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