Articulation
Articulation marks tell you how a note begins, continues and ends. Two players can read the same pitches and rhythm but make a phrase sound connected, detached or pointed by changing articulation.
- attack
- length
- connection
Which marks should you recognize first?
A slur curves over notes of different pitches and asks for a connected gesture. A staccato dot separates a note from the next. A tenuto line asks for the note's full weight or length. An accent sign (>) singles out an attack, while a marcato wedge (^) generally makes it more pronounced. Read Legato and Slurs, Staccato, Tenuto, Accent and Marcato separately when the marks appear in a score.
Does articulation change the written rhythm?
The note values still organize the beat. Articulation changes the sound within those values. A staccato quarter note is often released before the next beat, but “staccato means exactly half a beat” is not a universal rule. Tempo, instrument and style affect the gap.
What about glissando and tremolo?
How do you read marks together?
Check the note, then the mark attached to it, then any phrase-wide instruction. A staccato dot plus an accent asks for a detached note with emphasis. A slur over several notes plus a crescendo asks you to connect the phrase while growing louder. The instructions describe different dimensions and can coexist.
Practice without new notes
Choose four repeated C notes at a steady pulse. Play them legato, staccato and then with one accented note. If you can hear which version you played without watching your hands, you have begun to read the signs as sound rather than vocabulary.