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Views from the Choir Loft

What They Didn’t Tell You About Psalm Tone VIII

Jeff Ostrowski · December 11, 2014

578 Tone 8 Psalm Tone Mode Eight OMEONE who explains to a young driver the meaning of the green and red traffic lights but says nothing about the yellow light is guilty of a serious omission. The same is true when it comes to explaining the Gregorian psalm tones. Many manuals, even the front of the Liber Usualis, leave out critical information.

Eventually, I will explain all eight psalm tones, but today I treat Mode 8 “simple” psalm tone.

Those alive during the 1990s remember The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog. Do you know why that sentence was used to display fonts? It’s because every letter of the alphabet is used. Similarly, these Latin sentences use every possibility:

PSALM 138 • Et vide, si via iniquitátis in me est: * et deduc me in via aetérna.

PSALM 115 • Crédidi, propter quod locútus sum: * ego autem humiliátus sum nimis.

PSALM 129 • Quia apud te propitiátio est: * et propter legem tuam sustínui te Dómine.

PSALM 110 • Memóriam fecit mirabílium suórum, † miséricors et miserátor Dóminus: * escam dedit timéntibus se.

The significance & importance of these will become clear below.

97% of Latin words end with a Trochee or Dactyl:

A Trochee (e.g. Déus) has the accent on the penult—that is, the second-last syllable.

A Dactyl (e.g. Dóminus) has the accent on the antepenult—that is, the third-last syllable.

When setting texts to a Mode 8 psalm tone, you can follow the Rules For Psalm Tones without any issues 97% of the time. Hundreds of fully notated psalms (Psalmi in Notis) are available at the Lalande Library.

Setting Mode 8 is easy when each line ends with a Trochee or Dactyl:

      * *  PDF Sample Page: Solesmes Psalmi in Notis (1908)

Now let’s examine the difficult cases.

Psalm 138 has a mediant that ends with three (3) monosyllables:

PSALM 138 • Et vide, si via iniquitátis in me est: * et deduc me in via aetérna.

The more common way would be:

577 Mode 8 First


However, the 1912 Vatican decree also allows:

576 Mode 8 Second

Psalm 115 has a Trochee followed by a monosyllable:

PSALM 115 • Crédidi, propter quod locútus sum: * ego autem humiliátus sum nimis.

The more common way makes this into a “false” Dactyl:

575 Mode 8 Third


But the 1912 Vatican decree also allows:

574 Mode 8 Fourth

Psalm 129 has a Dactyl followed by a monosyllable:

PSALM 129 • Quia apud te propitiátio est: * et propter legem tuam sustínui te Dómine.

This would normally be treated:

573 Tone 8 Fifth


But the 1912 decree gives permission for:

572 Mode 8 Sixth

Finally, what should be done with Psalm 110, whose ending consists of a Dactyl plus a monosyllable?

PSALM 110 • Memóriam fecit mirabílium suórum, †
miséricors et miserátor Dóminus: * escam dedit timéntibus se.

Here’s what you do:

571 Mode 8 SEVENTH


If you don’t believe me, you can see proof in Psalmi in Notis.

Speaking of endings with a Dactyl plus a monosyllable, the same is true for this example:

661 corripias me


The same is true of this example (“refíciam vos”):

179 reficiam


Opinions by blog authors do not necessarily represent the views of Corpus Christi Watershed.

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: Psalm Tone Mode 8 Tone Eight Simple Last Updated: January 1, 2020

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About Jeff Ostrowski

Jeff Ostrowski holds his B.M. in Music Theory from the University of Kansas (2004). He resides with his wife and children in Michigan. —(Read full biography).

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Corpus Christi Watershed

President’s Corner

    “Music List” • 15th in Ordinary Time (Year C)
    Some have expressed interest in perusing the ORDER OF MUSIC I prepared for the 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time (13 July 2025). If such a thing interests you, feel free to download it as a PDF file. As always, the Responsorial Psalm, Gospel Acclamation, and propers for this Sunday are also provided at the the feasts website.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    15th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C)
    This coming Sunday—13 July 2025—is the 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C). All the chants have been conveniently assembled and posted at the feasts website. The OFFERTORY, Ad Te Levávi, is particularly beautiful.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Music Director Job • $80,000 per year
    Our readers will be interested in this job offering for Music Director at Saint Adalbert’s Basilica, located 40 minutes from where I live. My pastor was recently elevated to this basilica. He is offering $80,000 per year, plus benefits. I’m told Saint Adalbert’s Basilica is utterly gorgeous and contains one of America’s most magnificent pipe organs. It would be fantastic to have a colleague nearby!
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Quick Thoughts

    Pope Pius XII Hymnal?
    Have you ever heard of the Pope Pius XII Hymnal? It’s a real book, published in the United States in 1959. Here’s a sample page so you can verify with your own eyes it existed.
    —Corpus Christi Watershed
    “Hybrid” Chant Notation?
    Over the years, many have tried to ‘simplify’ plainsong notation. The O’Fallon Propers attempted to simplify the notation—but ended up making matters worse. Dr. Karl Weinmann tried to do the same in the time of Pope Saint Pius X by replacing each porrectus. You can examine a specimen from his edition and see whether you agree he complicated matters. In particular, look at what he did with éxsules fílii Hévae.
    —Corpus Christi Watershed
    Antiphons Don’t Match?
    A reader wants to know why the Entrance and Communion antiphons in certain publications deviate from what’s prescribed by the GRADUALE ROMANUM published after Vatican II. Click here to read our answer. The short answer is: the Adalbert Propers were never intended to be sung. They were intended for private Masses only (or Masses without music). The “Graduale Parvum,” published by the John Henry Newman Institute of Liturgical Music in 2023, mostly uses the Adalbert Propers—but sometimes uses the GRADUALE text: e.g. Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul (29 June).
    —Corpus Christi Watershed

Random Quote

“As late as 1834, British society had many restrictions on any person not adhering to the Anglican church. For example, Roman Catholics could not attend a university, serve on a city council, be a member of Parliament, serve in the armed forces, or even serve on a jury.”

— Regarding the Church of Henry VIII

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