A Gregorian Chant Coloring Book For Children & Adults

Product Description

Monks back in medieval times found ways to speed up learning chant by replacing one of the black four lines of the music staff with one drawn in green or red ink. This medieval problem-solver eliminated something that was the “Where’s Waldo?” of the times, as monks and nuns struggled to find and remember what line DO or FA was on. Drawing the line in green or red made it obvious. Hundreds of years later while creating a coloring book to track chant, this information caused a candle to light above our heads. (we were thinking Medieval so there were no light bulbs to light) Why not help children and adults learn to read chant by having them color the DO or FA line and the notes on that line as well? So here you have it. We have the original scribes to thank for this! How this works: The staff, clefs, notes and more about chant are presented in an innovative manner that builds on the fact that at one time the Gregorian Chant music staff of four lines was drawn using green ink for DO and red ink for FA. Expanding this idea to include clefs and notes, while coloring students of chant learn how to read and sing chant with the half-steps of the chant scales firmly visualized, making the transition to reading chant from books printed in black ink very easy. All the books by Basic Chant use very large notes for chant since this was how they were created and used by singers for hundreds of years as singers grouped around one large book to sing. The notes and signs of chant can be hard to read in modern printed books but after learning them in large form, it becomes much easier to sing them from modern editions. Also available is a Teacher’s Edition in full color. Makes it easy for them to make sure everyone’s coloring the right colors!

About the Author

Noel Jones first sang chant in a choir of men and boys at the age of 7 and followed that up by chanting daily masses before he was a teenager in a small town in Ohio. Summer studies with Benedictine monks took him further along the chant path prior to his leaving for New York City where he directed Catholic choirs and was organist at the Church Center for the United Nations as well as accompanist for the United Nations Singers. Later in Germany he was organist for the English masses at the DOM Cathedral in Frankfurt. Then, living in Italy, he played for masses at Il Duomo in Barga, Italy and produced and conducted the town’s annual San Cristoforo Day celebration concert in the 11th century church. Working as an opera coach, he has worked with singers in Germany, Italy and the United States As a church organ designer, he eventually located in Tennessee, where he joined the staff of a Catholic church as director of music, involved in returning church music to chant and polyphony. The choir grew from 16 to 46 under his leadership. He and Mary C. Weaver have founded Musicam Sacram, a CMAA chapter in East Tennessee and he was a participant in the 2010 Church Music Association of America Colloquium in Pirrsburgh, PA. He is an Associate of the American Guild of Organists. He serves as Creative Director of www.frogmusic.com. His wife, Ellen Doll Jones, CAGO is a church musician as well and works with Noel as a co-editor on projects. They both perform organ recitals, often playing duets. Ellen is a board member of the Church Music Conference at Sewanne, TN. They live on a farm in East Tennessee Most recently, he taught Liturgical Music at a Catholic High School. He is available for workshops on chant, choral conducting, organ registration and hymn playing.