The American Organist Review
A BEGINNER'S GUIDE TO READING GREGORIAN CHANT NOTATION
..This wonderful little book is the chant-equivalent of Dick and Jane. With as few as one word on a page (and one neume), it takes us back to the root of learning to read (this notation) from the ground up. Beyond that, what can one possibly say? It is a primer and a refreshing way to reduce an idiom carrying with it a mysterious theoretical and stylistic aura to the fundamental, even primal musical language that it is.
....Jones does not pontificate about chant. He avoids sentences and paragraphs wherever possible. His preferred style of written communication is something between a word and a bullet list. How can one argue with the minimalist reduction of what is, to most, an indecipherable old craft to a series of statements such as "Staff covers just the range of the human voice" or "There are only two clef signs"?
....Where content is minimal, so the book's design and layout are also simple and striking. While the printer wastes no ink, the typefaces recall the stroke of the medieval copyist's pen. It is a lovely, simple treasure to behold.
In a scant 71 pages, most of which contain a single large illustration and one or two words, the code is broken. And once that happens, chant is as easy as "See Spot run. Run Spot, run!"
Haig Mardirosian
The American Organist is the official journal of the American Guild of Organists
Reprinted with permission.
The AGO has over 21,000 members throughout the United States, Europe, Singapore, Korea and Sydney.
Beginner's Guides
We started out just creating a simple book that displays the chant notes, and clefs in very large form, the original way that they were used with simple explanations. The large forms train the eyue to recognize them quicker when reading today's chant book with small type and notation. A Beginner's Guide to Reading Gregorian Chant Notation
But then we began to realize the people also, us included, wanted to know more about the elusive "rhythm" of chant we kept hearing about and created a second books which added a section on rhythm as well as sight singing. A Beginner's Guide to Singing Gregorian Chant Notation, Rhythm & Solfeggio
A coloring book was next, a fun way for children and adults to learn about chant and this is also a serious guide to learning to read and sing chant. A Gregorian Chant Coloring Book for Children & Adults • Student and A Gregorian Chant Coloring Book for Children & Adults • Teacher
From Fast Food to Fast Chant!
Finally, it dawned on us that people might also learn by taking a simple melody and stripping away all the modern notation and making it a chant melody, teaching chant using the simple melody of Joy To The World. This evolved into our free chant school, a 14 week curriculum including video & audio files. One mother's 7 year old saw the Quicktime movie (free) on her mother's iPad at a fast food restaurant and asked to try it. By the time they left, she could read Gregorian Chant notation. If You Can Sing Joy To The World You Can Learn To Read & Sing Gregorian Chant
This book has audio and video training files here on our site.
All books purchased from our site are guaranteed 100%. If you are not totally 100% satisfied, we cheerfully refund your money.
We are pleased that a Catholic Home Schooling Association inspired the creation of the Free Chant School and it is now part of their curriculum.
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