Jeux d'articulation

Staccato vs. Legato

Listen to this example and tell me if it's staccato or legato.

I'll play through it twice.
Here it is again.

If you said staccato, that's exactly right.
I was playing the notes detached and crisp.

Next Example

Here's the next one.
And again, if you said legato, that's exactly right.
I played the same notes as before, but I connected them rather than separating them.

Final Example

Here's the last example.
What's your guess on that one?

I tricked you. If you said the first part was legato and the second part was staccato, you're exactly right.

Key Considerations

One thing to think about, especially when playing staccato, is that you really want to make sure there's no tension in your body.

• At first, it can be really tempting to keep a tense wrist in order to really separate the notes,
• but make sure that your wrist stays loose and flexible.

It's the same case when you're playing legato and when you're doing things like moving over the octave.

You might even use your elbow and your shoulder to help you move towards that direction and keep a smooth line of the melody.