A Beginner’s Guide to Reading
Gregorian Chant Notation
Noel Jones
Index
Overview ........................................2
Punctum ..........................................5
Punctum Mora .............................12
Staff ..............................................18
Divisions - Pauses ......................... 20
DO Clef ........................................ 22
Torculus ........................................46
Virga ............................................48
Podatus ..........................................50
Clivis ............................................. 52
Punctum Inclinatum ...................54
Porrectus ....................................... 56
Liquescent .................................... 58
Horizontal Episema ....................60
Vertical Episema & Ictus ........... 62
FA Clef .........................................64
Quilisma ....................................... 66
Flat & Natural ........................... 68
Custos ............................................70
Appendix
Sample Chant Pages
Second Edition
ISBN: 1438257481
©2008 Frog Music Press
To my aunt
Mary Jones,
who has always
encouraged me.
1
The Musica Sacra website at www.musicasacra.com has a long
list of chant book resources that may be downloaded on the
internet. They also are publishing and reprinting books on the
subject. Their “An Idiot’s Guide to Square Notes” by Arlene
Oost-Zinner and Jeffrey Tucker is not to be missed.
This short book is an effort to quickly outline and explain the
simple system of writing and reading chant. Prior to organiza-
tion of the writing of chant into this form there were squiggled
signs above words that were the first attempts to preserve the
oral tradition of sung chant.
We hope that this book serves to answer questions, give you con-
fidence and encourages you to study further the music of the
Church.
The next two pages are an overview. You may skip them and
go straight on learning to read basic chant on page 4.
2
A Brief Overview of Chant Notation
• The foundation of modern written music notation
• Easier to read than modern notation
• Takes less space on the page than modern notation.
• Chant is made up of small groupings of organized notes
• Each group has a different and consistent purpose
• Music staff covers just the range of the human voice
• There are only four lines in the staff
• Notes are always directly above the vowel that is sung
• There are only two clef signs
• There is only one sign, a flat. that alters the pitch of a note
• All chant may be written with the same note, a neume
• Neume groupings organize notes over their word syllables
3
Sample
1. An Alleluia written using the basic chant neume, a simple
note for each pitch.
Al-le - - - - - - -- - -lu- - - - - - - - - - - ia------
2. This Alleluia using chant neumes that clearly show the
grouping of pitches above the syllable being sung, as well as
interpretation...
Alle- lu- ia
3 The same Alleluia using in modern notation. Note the
amount of space this takes, a major issue when writing on
expensive vellum in medieval times. Chant notation is com-
pact and to the point.
&
œ
œ
œ
œ
œ
œ
œ
œ
œ
œ
œ
˙ œ
˙
˙
Al le lu ia.- - -
&
2
&
8
&
14
&
20
&
26
[Title]
[Composer]
Score
4
Neumes - Notes
Lord
A-men
Ho-san-na
One Pulse
One Syllable
[one part of a word]
Name: Punctum
5
Lord
A - men
Ho - san - na
The punctum is the only note needed to write out any chant.
As we study we will find that the additional neumes and
neume groupings that we are learning either:
1. Serve to tie a group of neumes together over one syllable
2. Indicate how to sing the neume
6
Length
Lord
A-men
Ho-san-na
Two Pulses
Two Syllables
7
Lord
A - men
Ho - san - na
A space between nuemes over one word tells us that each
one is sung to a different syllable of the word.
8
Length
Lord
A-me
Ho-san-na
Two Pulses
One Syllable
9
Lord
A - men
Ho - san - na
Two neumes almost touching lengthen the amount of time
the syllable below is sung by the number of neumes above.
Chant notes are sung to an equal pulse, so distinctions we
make in modern music notation of whole notes, half notes,
eighth notes, sixteenth notes and their equivalent rests are
not needed. In modern music the neume would be a q note,
two neumes close together a h note.
10
Length
Lord
A-men
Ho-san-na
Three Pulses
One Syllable
11
Lord
A - men
Ho - san - na
This indicates the vowel is sung on one pitch for three pulses
in what would be a dotted half-note h . in modern notation.
12
Decorations
Lord
A-men
Ho-san-na
Two Pulses
One Syllable
Also, at the end of a chant designates:
and is then called a Punctum Mora
13
Lord
A - men
Ho - san - na
The dot indicates that this neume is interpreted in a special
manner. This is the first “interpretation” chant sign we
study. They may be called decorations.
This tells us to lengthen the neume to two pulses.
However, at the end of a chant this dot also means to soften
the singing of the neume
14
Pitch
Lord
A-men
Ho-san-na
Two Pulses
One Syllable
15
Lord
A - men
Ho - san - na
Two notes touching are both sung to the same syllable.
They are always sung in order from left to right.
16
Pitch
Lord
A-men
Ho-san-na
Three Pulses
Three Syllables
17
Lord
A - men
Ho - san - na
Three notes not touching are sung in the direction they are
arranged...rising or falling in pitch.
18
Pitch
Lord
A-men
Ho-san-na
No Pulses
No Syllables
Name: Staff
19
Lord
A - men
Ho - san - na
Each note is placed n a Staff. The Staff covers the natural
range of the human voice, 9 pitches up and down. Notes may
be placed on the spaces between lines and on the lines.
Occasionally an extra short line may be drawn in above or
below the staff for permit the writing of a chant that goes
beyond the usual range of the voice.
20
Pauses
Lord
A-men
Ho-san-na
Quarter Line, No Break
Half and Full Line May Permit Breath
21
Lord
A - men
Ho - san - na
The pauses serve to break up the long lines of chant to make
them easier to read and understand. The simple one cutting
across one line has that purpose alone. The next two cutting
through two lines or all four may also indicate that this is a
place where a breath may be taken.
22
Pitch
Lord
A-men
Ho-san-na
Name: DO Clef
23
Lord
A - men
Ho - san - na
The DO may appear on just these three lines.
All the neumes above are the same pitch, DO.
This makes it possible to keep the notes of the melody cene-
tered on the four lines and three spaces of the staff.
24
Pitch
RE
DO
25
Lord
A - men
Ho san na
The first two intervals are DO and RE.
26
Pitch
FA
MI
RE
DO
27
Lord
A - men
Ho san na
This is half of an octave stretching from DO to DO.. These
neumes are evenly spaced in pitch until you reach the fourth.
FA is half the pitch difference that you hear between DO,
RE and MI.
This interval, the Perfect Fourth, in the building block of the
octave.
Sing DO RE MI and then feel the urge to end on FA. MI
“leads” you to FA. It’s called a Leading Tone.
28
Pitch
FA
MI
RE
DO
29
Lord
A - men
Ho san na
Singing down the scale of notes the effect of the FA - MI
half-step is not as pronounced to the ear.
Composers of chant write whole-steps and half-steps in 8 dif-
ferent patterns called modes.
• Modern music uses only two modes commonly - that we call Major
and Minor. Heavy emphasis on the TI DO is common, rarely do sec-
tions of pieces and endings ever not follow the TI DO pattern.
30
Pitch
DO
TI
LA
SO
31
Lord
A - men
Ho san na
The second half of the octave is the second interval of four
pitches that are stacked on top of the first set. to make an 8
note scale.
The Leading Tone here is TI. It’s effect is not as pronouced
here either as this is a descending scale.
32
Pitch
DO
TI
LA
SO
33
Lord
A - men
Ho san na
Here you will feel the pull from TI to resolve up to DO.
34
Pitch
DO
35
Lord
A - men
Ho san na
Count down eighth positions [lines and spaces] of the staff
from the DO Clef to find another DO an octave [8 notes]
lower.
36
Pitch
DO
TI
LA
SO
FA
MI
RE
DO
37
Lord
A - men
Ho san na
A full octave of pitches descending.
38
Pitch
DO
TI
LA
SO
FA
MI
RE
DO
39
Lord
A - men
Ho san na
There are 8 Modes...that are used when writing chant melo-
dies. Instead of ending on DO as many modern melodies do,
chant melodies may begin and end on any note of the scale.
Some think this gives chant its “floating” character, as it is
not bound to the modern major/minor tonality.
Music written from the time of Bach on all tends to only be
in only two of the modes, what moderns call the Major and
Minor.
40
Pitch
Lord
A-men
Ho-san-na
Two Pulses
One Syllable
2
1
41
Lord
A - men
Ho - san - na
We review...two neumes sung on one syllable.
42
Pitch
Lord
A-men
Ho-san-na
Two Pulses
Two Syllables
43
Lord
A - men
Ho san na
We review...one neume sung per one syllable.
The pulses that are the sung notes remain constant like the
ticking of a clock.
In some editions space between neumes has a meaning. For more infor-
mation about this, research Morea Vocis.
44
Pitch
Lord
A-men
Ho-san-na
Three Pulses
Three Syllables
45
Lord
A - men
Ho san na
46
Pitch
Lord
A-men
Ho-san-na
Three Pulses
One Syllable
Name: Torculus
47
Lord
A - men
Ho - san - na
The Torculus is one of the common neume arrangments that
you will fin. When you see it, glance down, read the syl-
lable, and then look up and sing the three neumes above it.
These neume combinations are like common road signs that
trigger a response in the brain.
48
Pitch
Lord
A-men
Ho-san-na
One Pulse
One Syllable
Name: Virga
49
Lord
A - men
Ho - san - na
Note how the line on the Virga leads your eye.
It tells us the next neume we sing will be lower in pitch than
this one.
50
Pitch
Lord
A-men
Ho-san-na
Two Pulses
One Syllable
Name: Podatus
2
1
51
Lord
A - men
Ho - san - na
A line connects the two notes in this note configuration
called Podatus or foot.
The lower note is sung first followed by the upper.
So our brain will understand we sing the same syllable on
two notes, one lower and the next higher every time we see
a Podatus. Podatus is “foot” in Latin.
52
Pitch
Lord
A-men
Ho-san-na
Two Pulses
One Syllable
Name: Clivis
1
2
53
Lord
A - men
Ho - san - na
The Clivis starts with a vertical line that leads our eye to a
higher pitch, almost always followed by a lower pitch.
54
Pitch
Lord
A-men
Ho-san-na
Three Pulses
One Syllable
Name: Punctum Inclinatum
55
Lord
A - men
Ho - san - na
The Inclinatum is a dead give-away that we are singing
more than one pitch on a syllable.
As you may have already discovered, while all of the forms
of neumes we have seen could be represented by individual
neumes strung across a page, the clumping of them in struc-
tured forms gives us a heads up and simplifies the reading of
chant.
56
Pitch
Lord
A-men
Ho-san-na
Three Pulses
One Syllable
Name: Porrectus
1
3
2
57
Lord
A - - - - - - - men
Ho - san - na
For some the most difficult of neumes to read, it’s simply an
easy way to write a group of three neumes that follow a
pitch pattern of high, low and back to mid.
The grey notes on the left page shows the same notes that
are in the Porrectus that follows it.
It was easier for those writing chant to write without lifting
the pen from the score than three neumes. And it clearly
defines a unique yet common musical pitch pattern.
58
Pitch
Lord
A-men
Ho-san-na
Two Pulses
One Syllable
Name: Liquescent
59
Lord
A - men
Ho - san - na
The tiny note of the Liquescent is always a consonant
that may resonate when sung....quietly.
Think Sa Ahn. Say it, let your tongue flip to the roof of
your mouth to make the soft AHN sound.
60
Modern Decoration
Lord
A-men
Ho-san-na
A Lengthened Pulse
One Syllable
Name: Horizontal Episema
61
Lord
A - men
Ho - san - na
Emphasis, usually thought to be stretching of the neume in
time.
Just one of the additions made to more modern chant nota-
tion to more fully guide us in the interpretation of chant.
These signs were created and added to chant in response to
a desire to try and write down the musical things that were
sung and passed down as tradition.
62
Modern Decoration
Lord
A-men
Ho-san-na
Indicates initial note of 2 or 3 note group
Name: Vertical Episema
63
Lord
A - men
Ho - san - na
Just one of the additions made to chant notation to more
fully explain interpretation.
The Monks of the Abbey of Solesmes were charged with the
mission of further editing chant to assist those singing in un-
derstanding the underlying rhythm...groups of two and three
neumes, that are the heart and soul of chant. They used the
vertical mark shown to point out the Ictus.
64
Pitch
DO
TI
LA
SO
FA FA
Do and Fa Clefs Center melody on Staff
Name: FA Clef
65
Pitch
FA
MI
RE
DO DO
TI
LA
66
Pitch
Lord
A-men
Ho-san-na
One Syllable
Name: Quilisma
67
Lord
A - men
Ho - san - na
It is generally accepted that the squiggle indicates that the
note prior to it is sung as a lengthened note.
68
Pitch
TI TE TI
Flat lowers TI one-half step to TE
Natural resets it back to TI.
It only appears on the pitch TI.
Name: Flat & Natural
69
Pitch
Lord
A-men
Ho-san-na
Silent - Not Sung
Indicates First Note coming up to be sung
on next Lower Staff
Name: Custos
70
Definitions
Clivis Higher note comes first in group of two
Custos Indicates next pitch on next staff.
Divisions Ends of phrases and lines where breaths may be taken.
DO Clef Shows location of DO on Staff.
FA Clef Shows location of FA on Staff
Flat Pitch of TI is lowered to TE, a half-step.
Ictus First “lift” note in groups of two or three.
Inclinatum A note that is leaning rather than straight.
Natural Raises Flatted TE back up to TI.
Neumes Notes
Podatus “Foot”, the basic neume or note.
Porrectus High note then lower note and high note
Punctum “Point”, a single note or neume
Inclinatum A note that is leaning rather than straight.
Punctum Mora A note that is longer and dies away.
Quilisma Three notes, first lengthened.
Repercussive The same syllable sung more than once on same pitch
Staff Four Lines
Torculus Opposite of Porrectus
Virga Descending notes
71
Clivis .................................52
Custos ..............................70
Divisions.......................... 20
DO Clef ...........................22
FA Clef ............................ 64
Flat ...................................68
Horizontal Episema ....... 60
Ictus ..................................56
Natural ...........................68
Pauses ............................... 20
Podatus ............................ 50
Porrectus ..........................56
Punctum .............................5
Punctum Inclinatum ...... 54
Punctum Mora ............... 12
Quilisma ......................... 66
Staff ................................. 18
Torculus ........................... 46
Vertical Episema ............62
Virga ............................... 48
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These two sample chant pages are used with permission of the
Church Music Association of America. They are pages from The
Parish Book of Chant. We highly recommend this book for your
schola, choir and congregation.
Vist the CMAA website at: www.musicasacra.com.
Noel Jones first sang chant in a choir of men and boys and followed that up
by chanting daily masses before he was a teenager in a small town in Ohio.
Summer studies with Benedictine monks took him further along the
chant path prior to his leaving for New York City where he directed Catholic
choirs and was organist at the Church Center for the United Nations as well as
accompanist for the United Nations Singers. Later in Germany he was organ-
ist for the English masses at the DOM Cathedral in Frankfurt.
Picking up work as a chor-repetiteur in Germany he was involved in
vocal coaching as well as a musical direction in Frankfurt, Berlin, Hamburg,
Bremen and Munich. Of the three Broadway musicals he led there, he con-
ducted two recordings and the European premiere of one. Having experience
setting translations to scores, he was engaged to do so in Germany, the United
States and eventually Italy, where he set the Italian text for Sir William Wal-
ton’s opera The Bear. He also served as chor repetiteur and rehearsal conduc-
tor for that performance under the supervision of Sir William.
During this time he played for masses at Il Duomo in Barga, Italy, as
well as producing and conducting the town’s annual San Cristoforo Day cel-
ebration concert in the 11th century church.
Working as a church organ designer , he eventually located in Tennes-
see, where he joined the staff of a Catholic church as director of music involved
in returning church music to chant and polyphony. He along with Mary C.
Weaver have founded Musicam Sacram, a CMAA chapter in East Tennessee.
His first chant book, A Beginner’s Guide To Reading Gregorian Chant
Notation, has been one of the most frequently books on chant purchased on
Amazon.com.
A Beginner’s Guide To Reading Gregorian Chant Notation
A Beginner’s Guide To Singing Gregorian Chant Rhythm
A Beginner’s Guide To Singing Gregorian Chant Using Solfeggio.
