“W” is for White, Benjamin Franklin (1800-1879).

“W” is for White, Benjamin Franklin (1800-1879). Composer, author. A native of the Padgett’s Creek section of Union District, White and shaped-note composer William Walker’s married sisters. The Whites moved to Georgia in the early 1840s. Although he received no credit, White was probably a contributor to Walker’s Southern Harmony. In 1844 White published The Sacred Harp, a shaped-note singing book. The easy-to-learn system made it possible for congregations to sign in harmony without musical accompaniment and also without the singers having to be trained to read formal sheet music. Shapes (triangle=fa, oval=so, rectangle=la, and diamond=mi) were added to note heads to help singers find pitches within major and minor scales. Benjamin Franklin White used the four-shape system and became one of the most prominent figures in the movement of that method.