Pitching Sacred Harp Music - The Pitcher's Task

The Pitcher's Task

At Sacred Harp singings, the choice of the key in which to sing a song is, in principle, given to the person leading the song (see Leading Sacred Harp music). However, only a few singers exercise this option; most defer to the pitcher, since the pitcher usually has more experience and skill. In addition, delegating the task of pitching lets the leader focus undistracted on the choice of tempo.

There are various factors that determine what key the pitcher will choose. Most plainly, the pitcher can inspect the notes of all of the vocal parts in a particular song, and pitch in a way that will avoid excessively high or low notes. Another factor to be weighed is the time of day; in the first morning hours of a singing, the singers' voices will not yet be warmed up and the pitcher may opt for a lower key than might be used at other times; lower keys may also be adopted during the final hours of a singing.

Once the pitcher has found a good key, he or she must communicate this choice to the singers. Methods of doing this vary; Cobb suggests that pitchers generally give the opening note of the song, in the tenor and possibly other parts. Singing master David Ivey teaches pitchers "to sound the tonic ... first, and follow with the other first notes of the parts."

Whatever pitches are given, they are sung using the standard names ("fa, sol, la, mi") in the system of shape notes used in Sacred Harp singing. The singers join in with their initial notes, likewise sung on the proper syllable, and then all begin the song, following the motions of the leader.