For those of you new to the realms of chanting you may be wondering what exactly chanting is. So lets address that first so we are clear in what we are talking about.
Chanting is essentially the use of the voice to repeat a particular word, phrase, song or syllable. For the context of this site the purpose of chanting is a form of spiritual practice with a spiritual objective of some description.
The types and shades of chanting are many and varied. The phenomenon of chanting is a spiritual practice that occurs pretty much around the globe traversing religions, traditions and culture.
Sometimes there is a fine line between chanting and singing. Indeed sometimes there is overlap and it may be hard to tell what is chanting and what is singing.
In fact the New Oxford American Dictionary defines chant as:
1. a repeated rhythmic phrase, typically one shouted or sung in unison by a crowd.
- a monotonous or repetitive song, typically an incantation or part of a ritual.
2. Music a short musical passage in two or more phrases used for singing unmetrical words; a psalm or canticle sung to such music.
- the style of music consisting of such passages : Gregorian chant.”
And the definition of sing is as to:
“make musical sounds with the voice, esp. words with a set tune…”
So singing and chanting are very similar and one could be mistaken for the other or even be the other. However there is a difference. Chanting is more commonly associated with repetition, which itself has a particular purpose and importantly with a spiritual objective.
These purposes or spiritual objectives of chanting are as varied as the types of chanting and this will be addressed later. However, the spiritual objective is usually related to that of transformation. Transformation of the self, the emotions, the soul, the life, the energy, the consciousness, the event, the situation.
Chanting then is the practice of harnessing the power of the voice to facilitate the desired spiritual transformation.