Rounds Resounding Day - August 1

Rounds Resounding Day, sponsored by the Rounds Resounding Society, celebrates the singing of rounds, catches and canons. Rounds are part of a tradition that has survived hundreds of years, with the oldest published rounds dating back to the late 14th and early 15th century. Rounds are musical compositions where two or more people sing the same melody, basically on a loop, but start at different times. As they sing, different parts of the melody overlap, but ultimately fit together in perfect harmony. Rounds and canons are simple to learn and are often favored by Glee clubs. More daring performers may choose to sing a catch — a type of round where a catchphrase that might not be obvious in a single line emerges when all the singer’s voices come together, often with obscene results. Rounds Resounding Day is celebrated each year on the first day of August. The day’s motto reads: “as rounds resound and resound, all the world’s joined in a circle of harmony.”