Articulation refers to how individual notes begin, sustain, and end. Key markings: staccato (short), legato/slur (connected and smooth), accent (emphasised), tenuto (full duration).
Articulation in music describes how individual notes are played — specifically how they begin, how long they sustain, and how they end. Articulation gives music its character, personality, and style.
The main articulation markings:
**Legato** — smooth and connected. Notes flow into each other without gaps. Shown by a curved slur line above or below a group of notes. On piano, this means holding each note until the next begins. On strings, it means bowing without lifting. On wind instruments, it means tonguing minimally.
**Staccato** — short and detached. A dot above or below the notehead. The note is played for roughly half its written duration. Sounds 'bouncy' or crisp. Piano staccato = lift the key quickly. String staccato = short bow strokes with lifts.
**Accent** — emphasised attack. A > symbol above or below the note. The beginning of the note is stressed compared to surrounding notes. Used for emphasis and rhythmic drive.
**Tenuto** — a horizontal line above or below the note. Means 'held to full value' — play the note for its full duration, often with slight emphasis. Opposite character to staccato.
**Marcato** — a ^ symbol. Strongly accented — more forceful than a regular accent. Common in martial or dramatic passages.
**Staccatissimo** — a small wedge shape. Even shorter than staccato. Used for very crisp, detached effects.
**Fermata** — a dot inside a half-circle. Hold the note longer than written, at the performer's or conductor's discretion.
Articulation is style-specific. Baroque music uses specific conventions that differ from Classical; jazz articulation is improvised rather than notated. A well-articulated performance feels intentional and alive; poor articulation makes even technically correct playing sound mechanical.
A music teacher on Virgoul integrates articulation into lessons from the beginning — expressive playing is built alongside technique, not added later.
Join VirgoulLegato is a style of playing — smooth, connected, with no gaps between notes. A slur is the curved line in notation that indicates legato playing for a specific group of notes. Legato is the concept; slur is the notational symbol. A slur also indicates that for wind and string instruments, the notes under the slur are played in one breath or one bow stroke.
Staccato notes are short and detached — each note lasts roughly half its written value with a brief silence after it. It sounds bouncy, crisp, and light. Think of a bouncing ball sound, or the opening of Mozart's 'Eine Kleine Nachtmusik' where the melody hops rather than flows.
Yes — though it's typically introduced after pitch accuracy and basic rhythm are established. Beginners who learn to notice articulation markings early develop a more musical approach. Ignoring articulation makes technically correct playing sound robotic. Most method books introduce staccato and legato in the first few months.