Il Canto Gregoriano è scritto in neumi, note cantate su una singola sillaba.
Il Canto Gregoriano non ha alcuna metrica, le frasi musicali sono separate da linee verticali che introducono una pausa per poter prendere fiato, come 
Il Canto Gregoriano non è scritto in una tonalità maggiore o minore, ma in modi (sebbene ci siano modi che possono somigliare ad una scala moderna).
Il Canto è scritto su un tetragramma (4 righi musicali), invece che sul pentagramma (5 righi musicali) come la musica attuale.
definisce la posizione del Do sul tetragramma. In questo caso il Do si trova sul terzo rigo dal basso, così che le note sui righi sono: Fa-La-Do-Mi.
significherebbe che il Do si trova sul rigo superiore, così che le note sui righi sarebbero: Re-Fa-La-Do.
è una chiave di Fa e indica dove è posizionato il Fa sul tetragramma. In questo caso, il Do si trova nello spazio superiore.
The Neumes
The sulla destra la notazione moderna equivalente.
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Punctum Questa è solo una nota singola |
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Virga This is the same as a punctum. |
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Podatus (pes) When one note is written above another note like this, the bottom note is sung first, and then the note above it. |
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Clivis (flexa) When the higher note comes first, it is written like this. |
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Scandicus Three or more notes going upward. |
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Climacus Three or more notes going downwards. |
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Torculus (pes flexus ) Three notes that go up and then back down. |
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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. |
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Scandicus flexus Four notes, going up and then dropping down. |
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Porrectus flexus A porrectus with a low note on the end. |
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Climacus resupinus The opposite of a scandicus flexus. |
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Torculus resupinus Low-up-down-up. |
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Pes subbipunctus One note up and two notes down. |
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Virga subtripunctis Four notes in a row, going downwards. |
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Virga praetripunctis Four notes in a row, going up. |
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Liquescent Neumes
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Epiphonus (liquescent podatus) Little notes lose some of their fullness because they are sung on a complicated syllable. |
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Cephalicus (liquescent flexa) In liquescent neumes like that look like this, The top note comes before the bottom note! |
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Pinnosa (liquescent torculus) Again, the top note comes before the note underneath. |
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Porrectus liquescens The little note always comes last. |
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Scandicus liquescens The little note is highest. |
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Quilisma This is marked by a jagged line in the middle. The first note is held a little longer than the middle one. |
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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.
And that is how to read Gregorian Chant notation!