Legato
Notes played smoothly and connected, with no silence between them, often marked by a slur over the group.
Also called: legato slur, smooth playing
Legato is Italian for bound or tied together, and it describes notes played smoothly with no audible gap between them. A slur, the curved line drawn over a group of notes, usually marks legato. On a wind instrument, legato needs a continuous airstream and careful tonguing. On a string instrument it requires one bow stroke across several notes. On piano, the key of each note is held until the next one sounds. Legato is not the same as loud or soft. A passage can be legato at piano, with each note joining the next, or legato at forte, with a full and connected sound. Its opposite is staccato, the short and detached style.
Related terms
- StaccatoNotes played short and detached, marked by a dot above or below the notehead, with silence left before the next note.
- ArticulationHow a note begins, sounds and ends, controlled by marks such as staccato, accent, tenuto and legato.
- DynamicsThe relative loudness of music, shown by markings such as p for soft and f for loud, and by hairpins for gradual change.