Salto

What it means

Salto is the Italian word for “leap” and designates, in a musical context, a leaping movement. The meaning is not fixed and depends on the context.

In dance, salto means a jump such as occurs in lively dances of the Renaissance and the Baroque. Dances such as the galliard or the saltarello, whose name derives from the same word, are characterized by jumps.

In melodic theory the term can designate an interval leap, that is, the step from one note to a more distant one, as opposed to stepwise movement. With string instruments there are also playing techniques with a bouncing bow whose designations go back to the same root.

The word has no fixed, generally binding meaning as a technical term; it is used more descriptively than terminologically.

In the notation

There is no notation of its own. Jumps in dance result from the choreography, not from the notated text. Interval leaps are recognizable by the distance between the notes. Bouncing bow techniques are indicated by dots, words, or combinations with slurs.

Musical use

Leaping movement shapes lively dances of every period. In the Renaissance, dancers showed their skill in jumps. In melodic writing, leaps create contrast to stepwise movement and give themes profile; large leaps seem expressive and tense.

In German, saltato or saltando designates, for string players, a bouncing bow technique in which the bow, through its elasticity, rebounds from the string. In dance, salto designates a jump. The designation salto is little used in music itself; more common are saltato or saltando for the string technique. In Renaissance dance movements such as the galliard, jumps shape the character, and the music brings out the corresponding spots through accents or hemiolas.

Performance practice

Prepare interval leaps by hearing the goal note internally before you play it — especially for singers and string players. Keep the line together despite the leap. And inform yourself, with dances, about the step sequence, for the jumps determine tempo and accent.