Articulation: legato, staccato, accents – free music theory course

Articulation describes how notes are connected and attacked: joined or detached, stressed or light. It is the "pronunciation" of music: the same phrase, articulated differently, completely changes character.

Sign	Name	How to play it on the piano
curve (slur)	legato	connected notes: release a key only as you press the next one
dot	staccato	detached, shortened (by about half), played with a light bounce of the wrist
wedge	staccatissimo	very short, pointed
horizontal line	tenuto	held for its full value, with slight weight
>	accent	a stronger attack than the surrounding notes
^	marcato	a heavy, "hammered" accent
dots under a slur	portato (mezzo-staccato)	halfway between legato and staccato, each note slightly separated

M:4/4
L:1/4
Q:1/4=90
K:C
(C D E F) | .G .G .G z | !tenuto!c !tenuto!B !tenuto!A !tenuto!G | !>!C !>!E !>!G z | (.c .B .A .G) | !wedge!c !wedge!G !marcato!c2 |]

Phrase marks

A long curve spanning a whole phrase is a phrase mark: like a singer's breath. Play legato inside it and "breathe" (a slight lightening, a tiny separation) at the end of the curve. In a short two-note slur, the first note is slightly stressed and the second lighter and shortened: the classic "sigh" of Mozart and Haydn.

M:4/4
L:1/4
Q:1/4=80
K:C
(e d) (c B) | (A G) c2 | (d c) (B A) | G4 |]

Piano legato is an illusion: a piano note starts dying as soon as it sounds. To suggest a continuous line, connect the keys with no gap and no overlap, and shape the dynamics so that each note takes over from the previous one at a similar volume.

Common mistake: playing staccato by hitting hard. Staccato is about length, not volume: a staccato can (and often should) be piano and light.

When there is no sign at all, the convention depends on style: in Bach a light "non legato" is common; in Romantic music a default legato feels more natural. Good (urtext) editions leave this choice to the performer.