Editing Gregorian chant (section)

===Musical idiom===
Several features besides modality contribute to the musical idiom of Gregorian chant, giving it a distinctive musical flavor. Melodic motion is primarily [[steps and skips|stepwise]]. Skips of a third are common, and larger skips far more common than in other plainchant repertories such as Ambrosian chant or Beneventan chant. Gregorian melodies are more likely to traverse a seventh than a full octave, so that melodies rarely travel from D up to the D an octave higher, but often travel from D to the C a seventh higher, using such patterns as D-F-G-A-C.{{sfn|Apel|1990|pp=256–257}}> Gregorian melodies often explore chains of pitches, such as F-A-C, around which the other notes of the chant gravitate.{{sfn|Wilson|1990|p=21}} Within each mode, certain incipits and cadences are preferred, which the modal theory alone does not explain. Chants often display complex internal structures that combine and repeat musical subphrases. This occurs notably in the [[Offertory|Offertories]]; in chants with shorter, repeating texts such as the [[Kyrie]] and [[Agnus Dei (music)|Agnus Dei]]; and in longer chants with clear textual divisions such as the Great Responsories, the [[Gloria in excelsis Deo|Gloria]], and the [[Credo]].{{sfn|Apel|1990|pp=258–259}}

Chants sometimes fall into melodically related groups. The musical phrases [[centonization|centonized]] to create [[Gradual]]s and [[Tract (liturgy)|Tracts]] follow a musical "grammar" of sorts. Certain phrases are used only at the beginnings of chants, or only at the end, or only in certain combinations, creating musical families of chants such as the ''[[Iustus ut palma]]'' family of Graduals.{{sfn|Apel|1990|pp=344–363}} Several [[Introit]]s in mode 3, including ''Loquetur Dominus'' above, exhibit melodic similarities. Mode III (E authentic) chants have C as a dominant, so C is the expected reciting tone. These mode III Introits, however, use both G and C as reciting tones, and often begin with a decorated leap from G to C to establish this tonality.{{sfn|Hiley|1995|pp=110–113}} Similar examples exist throughout the repertory.