Within the sacrificial tradition, the Sāmaveda functions as a kind of musical liturgy, transforming Ṛgvedic verses into carefully structured melodies that are sung rather than merely recited. These chants are entrusted to a specialized class of priests, the udgātṛs, who, together with their assistants, render the hymns in prescribed melodic patterns known as sāman. Their role is coordinated with that of other priests: the hotṛ recites the Ṛgvedic hymns in spoken form, while the adhvaryu performs the physical acts of offering. In this way, sound, action, and text are woven together into a single ritual fabric, with the Sāmavedic element providing the distinctly musical dimension.

The primary ritual setting for these chants is the great śrauta sacrifices, especially those centered on soma. During soma-yajñas such as the Agniṣṭoma and related rites, different classes of sāman are assigned to specific moments: some accompany the pressing and offering of soma, others mark transitions between phases of the rite. The same underlying verse may be sung to different melodies depending on the ritual context, so that each phase of the sacrifice has its own sonic signature. Through this ordered sequence of chants, the preparation, offering, and even the consumption of soma become suffused with sacred sound.

Sāmavedic chanting is also integral to major seasonal and royal ceremonies, such as the cāturmāsya-type rites and the rājasūya, where it helps create the ritual atmosphere deemed necessary for the sacrifice to be effective. In all these contexts, the chants serve to invoke and please deities—especially Indra, Soma, and Agni—through praise that is not only verbal but also musical. The precision of pitch, rhythm, and sequence is regarded as essential, so that the performance itself becomes an offering, a carefully tuned act meant to sustain the order that the ritual seeks to affirm.