Effectiveness of Shape Notes
Whether or not shape notes actually facilitate learning music is disputed. Most modern participants in shape note traditions would probably argue that they do. On the other hand, newcomers to shape note singing who can already read music may feel that the shapes do not help, though the task of learning to use them might perhaps be enjoyed as a novel musical challenge.
A controlled study on the usefulness of shape notes was carried out in the 1950s by George H. Kyme with an experimental population consisting of fourth and fifth graders living in California. Kyme took care to match his experimental and control groups as closely as possible for ability, quality of teacher, and various other factors. He found that the students taught with shape notes learned to sight read significantly better than those taught without them. Kyme additionally found that the students taught with shape notes were also far more likely to pursue musical activities later on in their education.
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AH. American Hymns Old and New, Vols. I–II. Vol. I, with music; Vol. II, notes on the hymns and biographies of the authors and composers. Albert Christ-Janer, Charles W. Hughes, and Carleton Sprague Smith, eds. (1980)