Tenuto & Staccato ::

Key words:
tenuto
staccato
mezzo-staccato
staccatissimo
1 Tenuto & Staccato
In the same way that a musical line can be 'smoothed out' using slurs, so single notes, that
when played normally would be detached slightly from the note immediately following,
when marked appropriately would be allowed to sound for their full written value. That
mark, a small horizontal line over or below the note head, is called a tenuto mark. If the use
of the tenuto marking is extended over more than a few notes the composer may place the
word tenuto in the score rather than pedantically marking every note.

The reverse, i.e. the shortening of a note by replacing part of its time value with a period of
silence, is called staccato, a sign introduced into music in the late eighteenth century. This is
marked with a small dot (for staccato) or a horizontal line and dot (for mezzo staccato), or a
single 'quotation mark' or 'wedge' (for staccatissimo). Staccato means no more than
sustaining the note, so marked, for only half its written length, replacing the other half with a
period of silence.

Some players mistakenly strengthen the shorter note in the belief that staccato is used to
make a note rhythmically 'stronger' when it is actually used to make it 'weaker'. Mezzo
staccato means hold the note for three quarters of its time value, while staccatissimo means
hold the note for one quarter of its time value.

We give a number of examples below.

Slurs & Staccato ::

Key word:
slurred staccato
1 Slurs & Staccato

When used under a slur, the staccato mark will have a slightly modified effect depending on
the 'weight' of the note within the slur were it to have no staccato mark. If a note is slurred in
pairs, the effect is to sustain the first but slightly lift the second. The staccato mark,
therefore, on either or both, must be seen to modify this relationship under the slur, so that if
both carry staccato marks, the first note remains slightly longer than the second but the notes
are now slightly detached from each other, the slur is therefore 'broken'.

The way a staccato mark under a slur is realised will also depend on the instrument for
which the instruction refers. On a piano the staccato under a slur is a portato where the
individual notes sound for three-quarters of their written duration. On a string instrument the
staccato mark under a slur means detach the notes on a single stroke of the bow whether
upstroke or downstroke. The bow does not change direction for the duration of the slur.

If the music is from the baroque period and the piece is slow and in a French style where you
might expected to play the shortest notes, say the quavers (eighth notes), ingal then if some
quavers (eighth notes) have staccato marks over them and a slur above the staccato marks
then those quavers (eighth notes) are to be played evenly, i.e. gal. See lesson 20 for more
information about gal and ingal.
Variety of Accents ::

Key word:
accents
1 Variety of Accents

An accent serves a variety of purposes:

1. a stress or special emphasis on a beat to mark its position in the bar.

2. a mark in the written music indicating an accent of which there are five basic types:
staccato accents,
staccatissimo accents,
normal accents,
strong accents,
legato accents

with several combinations possible.

3. the principle of regularly recurring stresses which serve to give rhythm to the music.

pressure
percussive accents (1-4)
accent (5)

legato
strong normal
accent
staccato staccatissimo accent accent
tenuto
martelato marcato
portamento
strong
light accents medium accents
accent
accent name description
staccato accent short and separated from the
following note
staccatissimo accent an exaggerated short duration of
the note
strong accent generally meant for attacks at
loud dynamic levels of forte or
louder
normal accent moderately sharp attack that can
be used at any dynamic level
from pianissimo to fortissimo
legato accent this can be used at any dynamic
level and is a slight stress
 without a noticable attack and
held to the full duration of the
note
combined accents (1-8)

strong legato or marcato

& strong portamento & marcato
strong & legato & marcato &
staccato & & staccato staccato &
staccatissimo staccatissimo staccatissimo
staccato legato mezzo staccato legato
duro staccato forzato
strong accents medium accents
accent name description
strong & very percussive and shorter duration
staccato than notated
accents
strong & very percussive while retaining full
legato accents duration of notation
strong & strongest percussive attack possible
staccatissimo with an exaggerated short duration
accents
legato & stressed and moderately short,
staccato separated from next note
accents
legato and stressed and quite short
staccatissimo
normal & moderately percussive and short
staccato
accents
normal & moderately percussive with full note
legato accents duration
normal &
moderately percussive with short note
staccatissimo
duration
accents
Articulation on Wind Instruments ::

Key word:
woodwind articulation
1 Articulation on Wind Instruments

We summarise below information about articulation and accent as applied to wind

instruments.

woodwind
description
articulation
usually marked by a slur, the first note only will be tongued and the
legato
remainder of the phrase in play under a continuous stream of breath
soft or tongued
every note is lightly tongued, with a softer syllable (du instead of tu)
legato
notes played half their written length, every note started and stopped by
staccato
the tongue
double tonguing fast alternating syllables, usually tu and ku
triple tonguing like double tonguing but alternating tu, ku and tu
flutter tongue a vibration of the tongue, as if rolling the syllable rrrr