In
chant, a
reciting tone (also called a
recitation tone) is a repeated
musical pitch around which the other pitches of the chant gravitate, or by extension, the entire
melodic formula that centers on one or two such pitches. In
Gregorian chant, reciting tones are used for a number of contexts, including the chanting of
psalm tones. Each
mode has its own associated psalm tone, whose primary pitch is variously called the
dominant,
tenor, or
tuba.