Please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articles available from Wikipedia or other free sources online. The Southern Harmony is a shape note hymn and tune book compiled by William Walker. The book was released in 1835 under the full title of The Southern Harmony, and Musical Companion. It is part of the larger tradition of shape note singing. The roots of Southern Harmony singing, like the Sacred Harp, are found in the American colonial era. Singing schools were created to provide instruction in choral singing, especially for the use of churches. In 1801, a book called The Easy Instructor1 by William Smith and William Little was published for the use of this movement; its distinguishing feature was the use of four separate shapes that indicated the notes according to the rules of solfege.