Articulation

breath mark symbol

A breath mark looks like an apostrophe and is placed following the note where the breath should be taken.

breath mark

A breath mark, also called a luftpause, is written in the music to let the musician know to take a breath.

caesura symbol

A caesura symbol is indicated by two diagonal lines placed following the note where the break should occur.

fermata

A fermata indicates that a note should be played or sung longer than its normal value.

fermata symbol

A fermata symbol looks like a bird's eye and is placed above or below the note.

marcato

A very strong accent. In Italian, marcato means "marked."

accent marks

Accent marks look like greater than signs in math. They are placed above or below the note.

articulation

Adjustments to the way in which a note or series of notes is played or sung

accent

An accent is placed on a note to show that the note should be stressed or emphasized.

slur

Another word for legato. Don't confuse the legato/slur symbol with a tie. Ties join notes of the same pitch.

caesura

Caesura is a mark used to indicate a sudden stop or pause in the music. It is sometimes called railroad tracks because of the way it looks.

staccato

Italian word meaning "detached." This articulation marking is used to show that a note or a series of notes should be played or sung shortly and detached.

legato

Italian word meaning "tied together." This articulation marking is used to show that the notes should be played or sung in a smooth and connected manner.

legato markings

Legato is indicated in the music by a curved line.

marcato symbol

Marcato is indicated by housetop accents, or accents turned on their sides.

staccatissimo

Similar to staccato, this instruction indicates to the musician that the notes should be played or sung in an extremely detached manner.

staccato markings

Staccato is indicated in the music by placing a dot above or below a note.

tenuto

Tenuto in Italian means "held." Composers use this mark to indicate that the note should be held its full value.

tenuto markings

Tenuto is indicated in the music by placing a short horizontal line above or below the note.

luftpause

The same thing as a breath mark