Staccato

Short and detached

On the page Notation symbols it says: staccato is a dot above or below the note head. The note is played short and detached, about half as long as written. The word comes from Italian and means “detached”. In the classical style, according to the page, it often appears in dance-like or humorous passages and is essential for the right character in Mozart, Haydn and Beethoven.

Staccato shortens without pushing the note out of the rhythm: the beginning stays on the beat, only the end comes earlier. The duration does not change in the notation but in the performance.

Staccato and legato

The Notation symbols page names legato (slur) as the counterpart to staccato: the notes under a slur are played slurred and flowing, without an audible break. Both signs belong to articulation, the “how” of playing. See also Legato and Accent.

Staccato in the score

Three sheets from the archive show it: in Grieg as “sempre staccato” in the march figure, in Schubert in both hands at once in opposition, and in Czerny as dots on single eighth notes.

Piano

• In der Halle des Bergkönigs Edvard Grieg, op. 46 No. 4 · piano · from Peer Gynt Suite No. 1

  Two sharps (key signature of D major/B minor), 4/4, “Alla marcia molto marcato” with ♩ = 138. “e sempre staccato” is written at the beginning of the eighth-note figure, the eighth notes carry staccato dots, some of them accents as well.

• Achttaktige Übung Nr. 4 Carl Czerny, op. 821 No. 4 · piano · 1 page

  “Vivace”, 6/8. In bar 3 there are staccato dots on the eighth notes of the right hand, in bar 4 an accent under the chord.

Voice and piano

• Gretchen am Spinnrade Franz Schubert · voice and piano, with chords for guitar

  6/8, one flat in the key signature, “Nicht zu geschwind” (not too fast). The left hand carries “sempre staccato” with dots on the eighth notes, the right above it “sempre legato” with pp.

In Schubert staccato and legato appear in the same line, the left hand short, the right slurred. That shows that these are two ways of playing that you have to master at the same time.

Common mistakes

• Playing staccato too short: What is meant is about half the length, not a mere tap. Even shorter would be staccatissimo.
• Losing the tempo: The gaps between the notes tempt you to speed up. The beginning of every note stays on the beat.
• Confusing staccato and accent: The dot shortens, the accent stresses.