Plaingsong Extended Journal

I chose to research what plainsong actually was or meant. It is very prevalent throughout Haruf's novel, Plainsong. Haruf starts the novel off by saying, "Plainsong-the unisonous vocal music used in the Christian church form the earliest times;any simple and unadorned melody or air." This is important, because the essence of the novel is the simplistic, gentle lifestyle that the characters lead. Plainsong can also be described as, "A liturgical chant that is monophonic and has no measure, such as Gregorian chants." The quick reference for Musical styles defines plainsong as, "6th century single line vocal melody, still used in Roman Catholic ceremonies." Although there are many definitions out there, the common thread in all of them it is very simple and lacks structure. This theme ties in with Haruf's Plainsong. All of his characters, along with his writing style, are very simple and ordinary. After they begin to form a community, it is like different voices coming together to simply form a strong loving bond.