neumatic
9.9
A chant style where each syllable has a small group of notes, usually two to four
- adjective
- /njuˈmætɪk/
- Specialized
:
neumático
- The choir performed a beautiful neumatic melody that highlighted the sacred text with each syllable sung to two notes.
Examples
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During the music class, we learned about different styles of chant, including neumatic chants that use several notes for each syllable.
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Have students research melismatic, neumatic, and syllabic singing in church music and the history of chant from Gregory to the Council of Trent.
Academic text (2003) -
The medieval manuscript included neumatic notation, showing how the chant was intended to be sung with melodic variations.
Synonyms
9.9
Singing one syllable while moving through several notes
focuses on short groups of two to four notes per syllable
How Melismatic
Surface Forms
neumatic positive
Morphology
Etymology
Neumatic comes from an old Greek word neuma meaning 'breath' or 'sign'. That's why a neumatic chant gives each syllable a small group of notes, like a short breath on the word.