Lesson 3
Going up, going down, staying
Nearly all Byzantine notation is built from a few movements. Learn these three first:
- Ison — stay on the same note.
- Oligon — go up one step.
- Apostrophos — go down one step.
In Greek the signs are Ἴσον, Ὀλίγον and Ἀπόστροφος. Many more signs exist — for rhythm, phrasing, ornaments and changes of scale — but they are not covered in this short lesson.
A small practice
The buttons below play short patterns made only of these three movements, starting from Πα. Listen, then sing them back.
If you lose your place, sing the movement in words: "same, up, up, down".