Byzantine Beginnings
1) Byzantine Notation Symbols- Names
Intervals
Rhythms
Qualitative
2) Types of Scales
3) Mode Keys
4) Time Keys
5) Types of Melodies and their Cadences
- Eirmologika, Sticherarika, Papadika
Handbook
1.1) Byzantine Notation Symbols- Names
Intervals Symbols
0
Ison
1
Oligon
q
Petasthé
Rhythmic Symbols
au
Klásma
a8
Aplé
a9
Diplé
Kentémata
a0
Triplé
~
ae
Gorgón
Kéntema
s
g
at
Dígorgon
Hypselé
ay
Trígorgon
`
!
Apóstrophos
)
Hyporrhoé
Qualitative Symbols
\a
Vareia
@
Elaphrón
a<
Homalon
$
Khamelé
am
Antikenoma
h
Synechés
Elaphrón
a/
Psifiston
Heteron or
aa? Syndesmos
Cross
a'
ae
Endofonon
Rhythmic &
Qualitative
symbols are
shown with
a gray
interval
symbol.
1.2) Byzantine Notation Symbols- Intervals
Only aspects of pitch are covered here. Sound quality and rhythmic aspects will be covered later.
0
p 9
Stay the same
1 q
up one
!
Q
down one
2 w
up two
@ W 0
down two
3 e
up three
down three
4 r
# E )
up four
5 t
$
up five
6 y
up six
7 u
up seven
*Symbols in the
second and third
columns with q or 1
under then have a
different sound quality
than those in the first
column.
]
down four
%
down five
^
down six
&
down seven
These symbols have special meaning or are combinations of the simpler symbols.
`
Up one on an unstressed
syllable
) - O
Down one, down one
again
_ _
Down one, down one
again (special rhythm)
Y
Down two, up one *Read
top two symbols.* (The oligon
base is only used for support)
1.3) Byzantine Notation Symbols- Rhythms
Each interval symbol has a built in rhythm of 1 beat. The following is a simple phrase with the
number of beats above each symbol.
1
1
1
1
1
1
afaa j s
A. Symbols that make notes longer
The following symbols are above or below the interval symbol and add more beats to the
symbol.
+ 1 beat
+ 2 beats
+ 3 beats
0;
0k
0;k:
0a
00:
Examples:
1
1
1
1
1
3
a f a a j s9
1
2
1
1
2
a 3 0: a j su
1
1
1
1
1
4
a a s s j j)
1
1
1
2
1
1
a a s s8 j j
B. Symbols that Make Notes Shorter
The following symbols make the notes shorter. They affect the symbol that they are above (or
below) as well as symbols before or after them.
Gorgon
½
24
½
a se
ae
A gorgon makes its symbol
and the one before it shorter
Phrases with Gorgons
½ ½
½ ½
_r
-r
½
½ ½ 1
½ 1
a : ajrj
Without Gorgons
½
The Oligon is used as support.
You read the top two symbols.
These two are the same.
½
½
V
½
1
½
ace
1½
1
You read the two symbols going up, so each
one is shorter.
The gorgon affects the kentemata and the
preceding note (the ison). The oligon gets 1
beat.
½
z jr
The aple adds length to the ison, but the
gorgon shortens it. This rhythm usually has
this qualitative symbol with the aple.
½ 1
ah
Although no
gorgon is
present, the
Synechés
Elaphrón has a
similar rhythm.
1.4)
\a
aa,
sm
a8mjr
a/
aa?
'a
ae
Byzantine Notation Symbols- Qualitative
Vareia
* placed before a character
* chant with a weight in the voice
Homalon
* placed below one character or two of the
same pitch
* chant the last beat (or partial beat) with an
undulation of the voice
Antikenoma * placed under an oligon
* chant a throw in the voice
Antikenoma *placed under an ison with an aple, always
followed by an apostrophos with a gorgon
*chant this part suspended and inseperable
Psifiston
Heteron or
Syndesmos
* placed below one symbol, always followed by
descending characters
* chant this syllable with volume and vivacity
* placed under two symbols
* chant with smoothness and softness
Cross
* placed before a symbol
* take a breath
Endofonon
* placed below a characters
* chant with a nasaly voice
* used with syllables ending in em and en
Taken from the book “Byzantine Ecclesiastical Music” by Basilios Psilacos
2) Types of Scale
Here is the Greek Scale, pronunciation in English, and the Western scale equivalent.
Greek
c v b n m , . c/
English
pronunciation
Ni
Pa
Vou
Ga
Thi
Ke
Zo
Ni
Western Scale
Do
Re
Mi
Fa
So
La
Ti
Do
There are 4 Types of Scales and 8 Modes (or Tones)
Diatonic
Modes 1 & 5
Soft Chromatic
Mode 2
Hard Chromatic
Mode 6
Enharmonic
Modes 3 & 7
Modes 4 & 8
The distances between notes in most of the scales are not made up only of whole and half steps, but
have semi tones mixed in. In the following charts, 12 is equal to one whole step and 6 is equal to one
half step.
[insert scale charts]
3) Mode Keys
The Mode Key is at the top of the music and tells what mode the key is in as well as what the base note is.
h qT V
Example Mode Key
and what it means
below.
Ehos or Mode
Mode Mode Key
1
2
symbol for Mode
H
pl or plagal
Pa is the base note
Base Note
Mode
Mode Key
Base Note
qT V
Pa
5
HqV
Pa
qT <
Ke
HqV <I
Ke
qT V 4
Ke
Wt
Thi
Hwg
Pa
WG
Vou
Hwg MU
Thi
Wg
Pa
Hwg
6
HwG
Uy
Thi
Vou
3
p
(Old script
showing an ascent of
three notes from Ni)
7
EN
Ga
Zo
eN
Ga
E>
eN @
Pa
Tone 7 is not the
plagal of Tone 3.
E@
4
Ga
Pa **
need to get
the rest of the symbols to
show up
rT M
Thi
HrC
Ni
rTV
Pa
HrC NU
Ga
rT_
Vou
HrCNU
Ga **
HrCy
Vou
8
need to get the
rest of the symbols to show up
4) Time Keys
Time Key
Meaning
Western Equivalent
S
Slowest tempo
about 50 beats/minute
grave or largo
D
Slow tempo
about 60 beats/minute
lento or adagio
F
Medium tempo
about 100 beats/minute
adante
J
Moderate tempo
K
Fast tempo
about 180 beats/minute
allegro
L
Fastest tempo
about 240 beats/minute
presto or prestissimo
moderato
5) Types of Melodies and Their Cadences
There are three types of melodies (or hymns) within each mode and their cadences are slightly different.
Eirmologika, Sticherarika, and Papadika.
The Eirmologika type of melody has an average of one beat for each syllable.
The Sticherarika type of melody has an average of two to four beats for each syllable.
The Papadika type of melody has more than four beats for each syllable.
Chanters use cadences when they only have text and have to compose music on the fly. A cadence is the
end of a musical phrase and can be compared to commas, semicolons, and periods in written language.
There are three types of cadences:
incomplete cadences are like a comma
complete cadences are like a semicolon
final cadences are like a period