- 1). Listen to as much Eastern liturgy as you can. The Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America has an online Byzantine chant tutorial on its website at goarch.org. Its Russian and Armenian counterparts have similar web-accessible services.
- 2). Download the sheet music for various liturgical occasions from liturgica.com. You will see that much of it is written without time signature, i.e. without any indication of the value of a beat or how many beats there are per measure. This leaves the tempo and execution of the chants to the discretion of the celebrant and choir director.
- 3). Visit local Orthodox congregations to experience the Divine Liturgy in real time. Visual impressions of singing are as equally instructive as audible ones.
- 4). Establish contact with Eastern Orthodox musicians, particularly if you lack formal musical training. Information on a professional association can be found at churchmusic.goarch.org.
- 5). Join a choir. This may involve overcoming social inhibition, but there is no substitute for actually putting this knowledge to use. Work out a level of commitment with the choir director that serves both your interests and those of the group.
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