Sometimes a tonary was attached to these manuscripts, and the cantors could use it by looking for the incipit of an antiphon in question (e.g. an introit to  communio), in order to find the right psalmody according to the mode and the melodic ending of the antiphon, which was sung as a refrain during the recitation of the psalm. A Greek psaltes would sing a completely different melody according to the echos indicated by the modal signature, while Frankish cantors had to remember the melody of a certain Roman chant, before they communicated their idea of its mode and its psalmody in a tonary—for all the cantors who will follow them.
Occasionally, a manual was appended to these manuscripts, allowing cantors to look up the corresponding psalmody by matching the incipit of an antiphon (e.g., introit to communio), thereby selecting the appropriate melody based on the mode and melodic ending of the antiphon, which served as a refrain during psalm recitation. Greek psaltes employed distinct melodies according to modal signatures, whereas Frankish cantors relied on memorized Roman chant melodies before conveying their understanding of its mode and accompanying psalmody in a manual.