GREGORIAN CHANT NOTATION

(The following page is reproduced from:
http://www.netaxs.com/~rmk/Chant/)

This is a description of the traditional Gregorian Chant notation, so that anyone will be able to read the notation and sing it.

Chant is written in neumes, which are notes sung on a single syllable.

Gregorian Chant has no meter at all. vertical lines separate musical phrases and allow a pause for taking a breath, like

Chant is not in a major key or a minor key, but in modes (though there are some modes which can sound like a modern scale).

Chant is written on a 4-line staff, instead of 5 lines as music is written on now.

marks where Do or C is on the staff. Here, it is on the third line from the bottom, so the lines would go F-A-C-E.

would mean that Do is on the top line, so the notes on the lines would be D-F-A-C.

is a Fah Clef, and indicates where fah is on the staff. Here, Do would be on the bottom space.

The Neumes

Chant notation is on the left.
The modern equivalent is on the right.

	Punctum This is just a single note
	Virga This is the same as a punctum.

Podatus (pes)
When one note is written above another note like this,
the bottom note is sung first, and then the note above it.

Clivis (flexa)
When the higher note comes first, it is written like this.

Scandicus
Three or more notes going upward.

Climacus
Three or more notes going downwards.

Torculus (pes flexus )
Three notes that go up and then back down.

Porrectus (flexus resupinus)
A high note, a low note, and a high note.
The line starts at the first note and goes down to the middle note.

Scandicus flexus
Four notes, going up and then dropping down.

Porrectus flexus
A porrectus with a low note on the end.

Climacus resupinus
The opposite of a scandicus flexus.

Torculus resupinus
Low-up-down-up.

Pes subbipunctus
One note up and two notes down.

Virga subtripunctis
Four notes in a row, going downwards.

Virga praetripunctis
Four notes in a row, going up.

Liquescent Neumes

Epiphonus (liquescent podatus)
Little notes lose some of their fullness
because they are sung on a complicated syllable.

Cephalicus (liquescent flexa)
In liquescent neumes like that look like this,
The top note comes before the bottom note!

Pinnosa (liquescent torculus)
Again, the top note comes before the note underneath.

Porrectus liquescens
The little note always comes last.

Scandicus liquescens
The little note is highest.

Quilisma
This is marked by a jagged line in the middle.
The first note is held a little longer than the middle one.

These are other ways of showing that a note is held:

One is by putting a dot (punctum-mora)after the note.
It is something like a dotted note in modern music.

The second way of showing that a note is held is by having more than one of the same note in a row on the same syllable.
This is called a repurcussive neume.

A horizontal line (episema) above a neume means to hold the note, or slow down like rit. in modern music.

A vertical line (episema) written under a note means it has a slight emphasis like an accent mark, or divides up groups of notes.

There is one accidental that may be used in Chant notation, it is the B-flat , which does look a lot like the modern B-flat .
Sometimes the flat sign can be written at the beginning instead of in front of the note, and then it's like a key signature. Otherwise, it only lasts for one word.

At the end of a line of chant, a little, skinny note (custos) is written to show what note is coming up next in the following line.