Articulations: legato, staccato, accent and tenuto on the guitar

The same note, played four different ways

Play an A on the guitar. Now play it again, but this time let it fade quickly. Now play it with an accented attack, louder than the surrounding notes. Now play it gently and let it ring for as long as possible. Four versions of the same note. Four distinct meanings. That is articulation.

Articulations are instructions that tell the performer not which note to play or at what volume, but how to attack that note and how long it should last. They are the musical equivalent of pronunciation in spoken language: the difference between saying a word with emphasis, through clenched teeth, drawing out the syllables, or cutting each consonant short. The vocabulary may be the same; the articulation changes the message.

For the guitarist, articulations are especially relevant because the instrument allows an enormous variety of attacks: with nail, with fingertip, muting with the palm, using left-hand slurs, with or without vibrato. Each of these techniques is a way of articulating.

Legato: the art of connecting

Legato (from the Italian legare, to bind) indicates that notes should be played in a continuous and connected manner, with no perceptible interruption between them. In the score it is represented by a slur: a curved line spanning a group of notes.

On the guitar, legato has a double life. In the general interpretive sense, it means playing with fluidity, without abrupt attacks between notes. But in guitar technique there is also the left-hand slur: a specific technique where the sound is produced by the fingers of the left hand — through a hammer-on (ascending slur) or pull-off (descending slur) — without the right hand intervening on each note.

The left-hand slur is one of the most expressive tools on the guitar. It produces a softer, more continuous sound than the right-hand attack, and allows passages of great speed. In the classical repertoire — Sor, Tárrega, Barrios — slurs appear constantly as an expressive device. In rock and blues they are equally fundamental: every hammer-on and pull-off in a blues phrase is a legato.

Staccato: the art of separating

Staccato (from the Italian staccare, to detach, to separate) is the opposite of legato. It indicates that the note should sound brief and detached from the next sound, with a perceptible silence between notes. In the score it is represented by a dot placed above or below the note head.

Staccato does not indicate a specific volume: a note in staccato can be loud or soft. What changes is the duration: the note lasts approximately half its written value, and the rest is silence. On the guitar it is executed in various ways: right-hand palm muting, reduced left-hand pressure, or palm mute on electric and acoustic guitars.

Staccato gives music a more articulated, percussive, and energetic character. When it appears in a phrase that would otherwise be legato, it creates contrast and relief.

The accent: highlighting a note

The accent indicates that a note should be played with more force than the surrounding notes, regardless of the general dynamic. The most common symbol is > (regular accent), placed above or below the note. There is also ^ (marcato or strong accent), which calls for more pronounced emphasis.

The accent does not change the duration of the note — unlike staccato — only its relative intensity. On the guitar it is produced with a faster and deeper right-hand attack. In classical technique, it involves greater finger speed at the moment of plucking.

Accents are fundamental to rhythmic expressiveness. A phrase without accents sounds mechanical and inexpressive. Well-placed accents create the sensation of pulse, of phrase, of intention. In flamenco, the accent is practically the essence of rhythm: the golpe, the accented rasgueado, the hierarchy between strong and weak beats.

Tenuto: sustaining and honoring

Tenuto (from the Italian tenere, to hold) indicates that the note should be sustained for its full written value, without shortening, and generally with a slight emphasis. The symbol is a horizontal line placed above or below the note.

Tenuto is subtler than the accent. It doesn't ask for more volume, but for more presence: the note is held with care, as if the performer is savoring it. In legato contexts, tenuto adds weight without abruptness. In rhythmic contexts, it can function as a small accent that doesn't break the flow of the phrase.

On the guitar, tenuto is achieved by ensuring the note vibrates for its full value and that the left-hand finger maintains pressure without releasing too early. It is an instruction of attention as much as of technique.

Combinations, hierarchies and reading

Articulations can be combined: staccato with accent (very brief and strongly accented note), tenuto with accent (sustained and weighty note), or legato with accent on the first note (phrase that launches with impulse and then flows). In the guitar repertoire these combinations are frequent and require careful score reading.

A frequent mistake among beginner guitarists is to ignore articulations and play all notes the same way. The result is technically correct but musically flat. Articulations are, alongside dynamics and tempo, the third pillar of musical phrasing. Mastering them transforms a correct execution into a performance.

In the next post we will study repeat signs: repeat barlines, first and second ending brackets, and the Da Capo and Dal Segno markings, which organize the form of the piece and tell the guitarist when to go back and which sections to repeat.

Articulation is the pronunciation of music. Without it, notes are just sounds; with it, they become words. — Leopold Mozart