minstrel: Chant notation

[Patricia Yarrow]

Well, no.  (This is a matter of some debate.)

Some of the neume shapes indicate groups of notes that are performed
together as a unit, and some notes within these units are held longer than
others.  There are bar lines that divide phrases and indicate where breath
should be drawn. There are also devices that show that a note should be
held.

http://lphrc.org/Chant/index.html is another link that may prove helpful.
To quote:

<<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 was more rhythmic detail in the earliest forms of notation.  To quote
from
http://www.beaufort.demon.co.uk/chant.htm#Help

<<Some of the earlier notations give rhythmic details, but most do not give
exact pitches, and must be used as an aide-memoire, in conjunction with a
knowledge of the oral tradition. Pitch-defined manuscripts begin to appear
in the eleventh century, and are well-established by the twelfth. In these,
the pitches can be read without a knowledge of the oral tradition, but the
rhythmic details cease to be recorded.