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A chant (from French language , from Latin , "to sing") is the iterative speaking or singing of or , often primarily on one or two main pitches called . Chants may range from a simple melody involving a limited set of notes to highly complex musical structures, often including a great deal of repetition of musical subphrases, such as Great Responsory and Offertory of Gregorian chant. Chant may be considered speech, music, or a heightened or stylized form of speech. In the Late Middle Ages, some religious chant evolved into song (forming one of the roots of later Western music).
Some examples include chant in , , Native American, Assyrian people and Australian Aboriginal cultures, Gregorian chant, Vedic chant, Quran reading, Islamic Dhikr, Baháʼí chants, various , various , Jewish cantillation, Epicurean repetition of the Kyriai Doxai, and the chanting of psalms and prayers especially in Roman Catholic (see Gregorian chant or Taizé Community), Eastern Orthodox (see Byzantine chant or Znamenny chant, for examples), Lutheran, and Anglican churches (see Anglican Chant).
Historical or mythological examples include chant in Germanic paganism.
Chant practices vary. In the Theravada tradition, chanting is usually done in Pali, and mainly from Pāli Canon. Tibetan Buddhist chant involves Overtone singing, where multiple pitches are produced by each performer. The concept of chanting is of particular significance in many Hindu traditions and other closely related Indian religions. India's bhakti devotional tradition centers on kirtan, which has a following in many countries and traditions such as Ananda Marga. The Hare Krishna movement is based especially on the chanting of Sanskrit Names of God in the Vaishnavism tradition and is sung from the Dan tien (or lower abdomen)—the locus of power in Eastern religion.
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