Understanding theory
W
hen you’re reading music, alongside
being given general direction for
the whole piece and technical
instructions on what notes to play
at what time, you will also come across markings
which tell you how to play individual notes in
terms of style. No matter what it is, you still need
to know what kind of emphasis to put on it. This is
where articulations come in.These small symbols are found either above
or below an individual note, depending on the
position on the stave. Articulations can alter the way
you play each note as well as create relationships
between the notes themselves.
Instructions such as staccato (shown by a small
dot, but be careful not to confuse this with a ‘dotted
note’) can tell you to play the notes in a detached
and ‘clipped’ manner. Conversely, when you see themarkings for legato (lines which tie notes of different
pitches together – but different to ‘ties’ which
connect notes of the same pitch) you know to slur
the notes, with no audible spaces. Some symbols
direct you to add accents to a note, and there are
some articulations (such as sforzando, or ‘sfz’) that
deal with volume and are considered as dynamics.
There are also articulations that cross the border into
tempo territory, such as a fermata.Add articulations
to notes
Play notes with character and style by familiarising
yourself with articulationsTime to articulate
Play each note perfectly as you master the use of these musical characters
01 Staccato
A dot beneath (or directly above) a note instructs you to play it staccato, which
means in a detached manner. This is then taken further with stacatissimo,
which is symbolised by a small triangle beneath (or above) the note.03 Accents
When you spot these little guys, they’re telling you to put some extra force on
that one note. A normal accent (bar 1) has the triangle pointing right, but for a
stronger accent (bar 2 ), you’ll see it reaching upwards..02 Legato
Here the notes are all joined with a curved line. This signifies legato, or ‘slurring’.
When you see notes written like this, play the notes together in a long, lazy drag,
with no gaps between notes until the end of the slur.04 Te n u to
A simple line above or below the note instructs you to play the note for its full
length. The note is to be separated from surrounding notes, which could mean
that it’s emphasised or played louder.