neume

American  

[noom, nyoom] / num, nyum /

noun

1. any of various symbols representing from one to four notes, used in the musical notation of the Middle Ages but now employed solely in the notation of Gregorian chant in the liturgical books of the Roman Catholic Church.

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neume British  

/ njuːm /

noun

1. music one of a series of notational symbols used before the 14th century

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Other Word Forms

• neumatic adjective
• neumic adjective

Etymology

Origin of neume

1400–50; late Middle English < Medieval Latin neuma < Greek pneûma breath

Example Sentences

The tone suffered in consequence, being uncertain, rough and tremulous, wherefore it was indicated by the neume known as quilisma: “Est vox tremula; sicut est sonus flatus tubae vel cornu et designatur per neumam, quae vocatur quilisma.”

From Project Gutenberg

Neume, nūm, n. a succession of notes to be sung to one syllable, a sequence: an old sign for a tone or a phrase.

From Project Gutenberg

Neume notation was used mostly in connection with the "plain-song melodies" of the Church, and since the words of these chants were sung as they would be pronounced in reading, the deficiency of the neume system in not expressing definite duration values was not felt.

From Project Gutenberg

Here then we observe the greatest weakness of the neume system—its lack of uniformity and its consequent inability accurately to express musical ideas for universal interpretation.

From Project Gutenberg

Just how the transition from neume to staff notation was made no one knows: it was not done in a day nor in a year but was the result of a gradual process of evolution and improvement.

From Project Gutenberg