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How did plainchant melodies differ from music with regular metrical beats?

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mode The universality and innate nature of music, and the pentatonic scale, as demonstrated by singer Bobby McFerrin.

Plainchant, also known as plainsong or Gregorian chant, differs fundamentally from music with regular metrical beats in its rhythmic organization.12

While music with regular metrical beats relies on a structured framework of recurring patterns—grouping basic temporal units into regular measures or bars with consistent accents—plainchant lacks this formal metrical structure. Instead, plainchant is characterized by "free" rhythms that are not dictated by a repeating beat or stress. Its rhythmic flow is derived from the natural accentuation of the Latin text and the dynamic quality of the word groupings, rather than a mathematically defined pulse.345

Because plainchant is logogenic (word-determined) and monophonic, it avoids the need for the strict rhythmic synchronization required in polyphony or dance-based music. Consequently, while metrical music utilizes a durational substructure to organize time, plainchant operates through an irregular, organic flow that reflects the liturgical nature of its Roman Catholic origins.465