Other examples from the chant literature include the old Matins antiphons from Holy Thursday, with their dark tonal references to the traitor Judas. It sounds like a shrill, pouty remonstrance from a functionary to the householder. These text-enriching melodies are found on almost every page of the chant literature. Some have even become commonplaces in other musical compositions. The Ascension Introit fragment also introduces us to the second element of chant discipline-the melodic shape.
Most plainsong phrases are images of the underlying word-phrase, and have a parabolic shape.
Note that the Introit phrase begins at a low pitch, rise in steps and short leaps to a high point in mid- phrase, and then falls off toward the end. Skilled chant singers emphasize this shape by a crescendo of volume to the peak of the phrase, followed by a decrescendo to the end. The monodic nature of chant is its third distinguishing feature. Monody is an essential part of the chant discipline. It is sometimes confused with monotony.