Month: April 2026

Calling all members, singers, and non-singers- get your practice materials here!

Shape Note Recording Event May 17, 2026
Time: 11 am practice, 1 pm recording
Place: BIN Cultural Center
N1866 US-151, Chilton, WI 53401

Stipends available (no paperwork required) from the Mark Baldwin Memorial Fund to help offset travel expenses. Please get in touch with Megan at BrothertownCitizen@aol.com

The two songs chosen from Indian Melodies by Thomas Commuck were “Algonquin” and “Brothertown” for the Wisconsin Historical Society archive recordings.

If you’re not sure if you are a soprano, alto, tenor, or bass, you can download all parts easily (small-sized audio files) and will find the right range for you.

“Algonquin hymn” recordings to practice from: To download, (computer or Phone) click the three dots on the right on the page that opens.

• Algonquin – soprano (2x):https://brothertownindians.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/Algonquin-soprano-2x.m4a
• Algonquin- alto (2x): https://brothertownindians.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/Algonquin-alto-2x.m4a
• Algonquin – tenor (2x): https://brothertownindians.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/Algonquin-tenor-2x.m4a
• Algonquin – bass (2x): https://brothertownindians.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/Algonquin-bass-2x.m4a
• Algonquin – 4 parts together: https://brothertownindians.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/Algonquin-4-parts.m4a

“Brothertown hymn” recordings to practice from: To download, (computer or Phone) click the three dots on the right on the page that opens.

• Brothertown – soprano (2x): https://brothertownindians.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/Brothertown-526-soprano.m4a
• Brothertown – alto (2x) Shape Note: https://brothertownindians.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/Brothertown-alto-2x.m4a
• Brothertown – tenor (2x) Shape Note: https://brothertownindians.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/Brothertown-526-tenor-2x.m4a
• Brothertown – bass (2x) Shape Note: https://brothertownindians.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/Brothertown-bass-2x.m4a
• Brothertown – 4 parts together: https://brothertownindians.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/Brothertown-526-4-part-2x.m4a

Shape note sheet music download of the two pieces for practice, downloadable in one PDF:

Brothertown Indian Nation documentary, edited and produced by Seth Wenger, 2018. (recorded song begins at 4:02 following the interviews). This hymn is entitled “Old Indian Hymn”. This hymn is not one chosen for this recording, but it shows what a shape-note hymn sounds like in a group.

On February 3rd, 2018, Brothertown Indian Nation Tribal Council members and Brothertown citizens from across the country united in New England, Thomas Commuck’s (Brothertown/Narragansett) ancestral home. These Brothertown citizens were joined by members of their parent tribes, members of various other Native communities, and singers from the New England shape note community.

Support the Veterans and the tribe on May 16, 2026, for their popular and much-anticipated Brat Fry once again

Saturday, May 16th
311 Winnebago Drive, FDL
10 AM – 2 PM

Date of Recording: May 17th
Time: 11 am practice, 1 pm recording
Place: BIN Cultural Center N1866 US-151, Chilton, WI 53401

Calling all Brothertown descendants—we need YOU!  Please join us on Sunday, May 17th, on our original Wisconsin Brothertown Reservation land for a unique Brothertown cultural event: shape-note singing!  The plan is to record 2 songs from the Indian Melodies tune book (Algonquin and Brothertown), written by Brothertown’s own Thomas Commuck (1804-1855), to accompany the Wisconsin Historical Society’s Indigenous display at its new Madison museum. 

You do NOT need to know how to read sheet music, nor do you need a good singing voice.  Brief instructions and practice will precede the actual recording.  Please see the details in the attached.

Additional information is coming shortly, which will include both downloadable music sheets (as well as downloadable MP3 piano recordings for all parts to practice from). Including for each piece: soprano line alone, alto line alone, tenor line alone (this is the melody in shape note), and bass line alone.  The final recording will be a reduction of all parts, like a Church Hymn, for each piece.