A system of musical notation used in shape-note singing and hymnody, particularly in American folk traditions.
Likely from Romance languages (compare Spanish/Italian 'sol,' 'la,' 'fa'), referring to the syllables used in singing and notation. It's primarily found in American religious music traditions.
Shape-note singing with fasola was a completely different way to teach music before recordings—ordinary people could learn hymns just by recognizing the shape of notes, not reading standard notation!
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