View source for Chant

{{Short description|Rhythmic speaking or singing of words or sounds}}
{{Other uses}}
{{technical reasons|Chant #1|the Spandau Ballet song|Chant No. 1 (I Don't Need This Pressure On)}}
{{more footnotes|date=November 2015}}
{{listen
| filename     = Pange Lingua Latin in Latin.ogg
| title        = Pange Lingua sung in Latin
| description  = The [[Latin]] text of [[Pange Lingua Gloriosi Corporis Mysterium|Pange Lingua]] sung to its traditional melody, mode iii [[Gregorian chant]]
}}
A '''chant''' (from [[French language|French]] ''{{lang|fr|{{linktext|chanter}}}}'',<ref>{{cite dictionary |url=http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=chant |dictionary=[[Online Etymology Dictionary]] |title=Chant |date=November 2001 |access-date=17 March 2019 |first=Douglas |last=Harper |publisher=MaoningTech |editor-first=Dan |editor-last=McCormack |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041026151930/http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=chant |archive-date=26 October 2004 |url-status=live }}</ref> from [[Latin]] ''{{lang|la|{{linktext|cantare}}}}'', "to sing")<ref>{{cite EB1911|wstitle=Chant|volume=5|page=846}}</ref> is the iterative speaking or [[singing]] of [[word]]s or [[sound]]s, often primarily on one or two main [[pitch (music)|pitch]]es called [[reciting tone]]s.  Chants may range from a simple [[melody]] involving a limited set of [[note (music)|note]]s to highly complex musical structures, often including a great deal of [[Repetition (music)|repetition]] of musical subphrases, such as Great [[Responsory|Responsories]] and [[Offertory|Offertories]] of [[Gregorian chant]].  Chant may be considered speech, music, or a heightened or stylized form of speech. In the [[Late Middle Ages]], some religious chant evolved into song (forming one of the roots of later Western music).<ref>{{cite book |last=Stolba |first=K. Marie |year=1994 |title=The Development of Western Music: A History |edition=2nd |publisher=[[McGraw Hill]] |isbn=9780697293794 |pages=734 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=W8UZAQAAIAAJ}}</ref>

{{anchor|Religion|Religious}}
==Chant as a spiritual practice==
Chanting (e.g., [[mantra]], [[sacred text]], the [[Names of God|name of God/Spirit]], etc.) is a commonly used [[spiritual practice]]. Like [[prayer]], chanting may be a component of either personal or group practice. Diverse spiritual traditions consider chant a route to [[mysticism|spiritual development]].
[[File:Monks chanting, Drepung monastery, Tibet.webm|thumb|Monks chanting, Drepung monastery, Tibet, 2013]]

Some examples include chant in [[Africa]]n, [[Hawaii]]an, [[Native Americans in the United States|Native American]], [[Assyrian people|Assyrian]] and Australian Aboriginal cultures, [[Gregorian chant]], [[Vedic chant]], [[Qiraʼat|Quran reading]], [[Islamic]] [[Dhikr]], [[Baháʼí Faith|Baháʼí]] chants, various [[Buddhist chant]]s, various [[mantra]]s, [[Hebrew cantillation|Jewish cantillation]], [[Epicurean]] repetition of the Kyriai Doxai, and the chanting of [[psalms]] and prayers especially in [[Roman Catholic]] (see [[Gregorian chant]] or [[Taizé Community]]), [[Eastern Orthodox]] (see [[Byzantine chant]] or [[Znamenny chant]], for examples), [[Lutheran]], and [[Anglican]] churches (see [[Anglican Chant]]).

Historical or mythological examples include chant in [[Seeress_(Germanic)#Chanting|Germanic paganism]].

Chant practices vary. In the [[Theravada]] tradition, chanting is usually done in [[Pali]], and mainly from [[Pāli Canon]]. [[Tibetan Buddhist]] chant involves [[Overtone singing|throat singing]], where multiple pitches are produced by each performer. The concept of chanting [[mantra]]s is of particular significance in many [[Hindu]] traditions and other closely related [[Indian religions]]. India's bhakti devotional tradition centers on [[kirtan]], which has a following in many countries and traditions such as [[Ananda Marga#Meditation, Lalita Marmika dance and Kirtan|Ananda Marga]]. The [[International Society for Krishna Consciousness|Hare Krishna]] movement is based especially on the chanting of [[Sanskrit]] [[Names of God]] in the [[Vaishnavism|Vaishnava]] tradition and is sung from the ''[[Dan tien]]'' (or lower abdomen)—the locus of power in [[Eastern religion|Eastern traditions]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://upliftconnect.com/neuroscience-and-the-sanskrit-effect/ |title=Neuroscience and the 'Sanskrit Effect' |last=ReShel |first=Azriel |date=23 February 2018 |publisher=Uplift |access-date=13 January 2020}}</ref>

==See also==

* [[A lo divino]]
* [[Football chant]]
* [[Fight song]]
* [[Sea shanty]] – Rhythmical work song sung on sailing vessels
* [[Skipping-rope rhyme]]
* [[Smot (chanting)]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Wikiquote}}
{{Wiktionary}}
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*[http://www.vedamu.org A site about Vedic chants]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20070125015836/http://buddhism.2be.net/Pali_Chanting Traditional Buddhist Chants (Texts and Audio) as in the Buddhist Encyclopedia]

{{Chant}}
{{Medieval music}}
{{Meditation}}
{{Chantbased}}
{{Western world}}
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[[Category:Chants| ]]
[[Category:Spiritual practice]]
[[Category:Articles containing video clips]]
[[Category:Medieval music genres]]