Definition
Articulation describes how a note is attacked, sustained and ended, and how it connects to the next one. Two melodies with the same notes and the same rhythm can sound opposite (one singing, one nervous) through articulation alone. In production it corresponds to MIDI note length, velocity, envelope and sample choice.
The main markings
| Symbol | Name | Performance | In MIDI |
|---|---|---|---|
| dot above/below | staccato | detached note, about half the value | length ~50% |
| wedge (or teardrop) | staccatissimo | very short and incisive | ~25%, slightly higher velocity |
| dash | tenuto | full duration, slight weight | 100%, no accent |
| dash + dot | portato / mezzo staccato | separated but soft | ~75% |
| > | accent | stronger attack | velocity +15/+25 |
| ^ | marcato | strong, short accent | high velocity, shorter note |
| slur over different notes | legato | no breaks between the notes | overlap of a few ms or legato patch |
| sfz | sforzando | sudden dynamic accent | high velocity on a single note |
They can be combined: accent + staccato = a short, strong hit (the horn “stabs” of funk).
String techniques
- Détaché: separate bows, one per note. Legato: several notes in one bow.
- Martelé: “hammered” and separate attack. Spiccato: the bow bounces (fast, light). Sautillé: natural bounce at high speed.
- Pizzicato (pizz.): plucked string; arco: return to the bow. Bartók pizzicato: string snapping against the fingerboard.
- Tremolo: very rapid bow strokes (indicated with slashes on the stem). Col legno: with the wood of the bow.
- Sul ponticello: near the bridge, glassy sound rich in harmonics. Sul tasto: over the fingerboard, soft, flute-like sound.
- Con sordina / senza sordina: with mute / without mute.
Winds and brass
- Single, double (ta-ka) and triple (ta-ka-ta) tonguing for fast repeated notes; flutter tongue (frullato).
- Mutes for brass: straight, cup, harmon (Miles Davis's sound), plunger (wah-wah).
- Fall, doit, scoop, shake: jazz articulations of horn sections.
Guitar and bass
Palm mute (strings damped with the palm), hammer-on / pull-off, slide, bend, vibrato, slap and pop (funk bass), ghost notes (muted, percussive notes), let ring.
Voice
Vocal legato and staccato, soft / hard / breathy attack, scoop (entering from below the note), fall (dropping off at the end), vocal fry and breathy: these are the articulations of the pop and R&B voice and they completely change the effect of a topline.
Articulation in production
- In orchestral libraries each articulation is a different sample: you choose it with keyswitches (notes outside the playing range) or with articulation maps. A true legato requires “legato” patches with recorded transitions.
- In synths articulation is built with the envelope: short attack and release + short note = staccato; glide/portamento in mono legato mode = legato.
- The gate of a sidechain and of a trance gate imposes a rhythmic articulation on a sustained pad.
- Bass note length: in house a staccato bass on the offbeat leaves room for the kick; in funk short notes + ghost notes define the groove.
Examples in real songs
- Nile Rodgers (Chic, “Le Freak”; Daft Punk, “Get Lucky”): rhythm guitar in staccatissimo sixteenth-note hits alternating with ghost notes.
- Bernard Herrmann, Psycho (shower scene): strings in marcato, screeching hits.
- Hans Zimmer and modern film music: string ostinatos in sixteenth-note spiccato as the rhythmic engine.
- Mozart, Eine kleine Nachtmusik: the opening theme alternates staccato and legato notes, a model of classical articulation.
Exercise
- Program the same 4-bar melody in three versions: legato (notes overlapping by 10 ms), staccato (50%), marcato (40% and velocity +20). Hear the change of character.
- On a synth (e.g. Mini V) create a “staccato” patch (attack 1 ms, decay 150 ms, sustain 0) and a “legato” one (mono, glide 60 ms): play the same line on both.
- Write a string part alternating spiccato and legato every two bars, using the keyswitches of a free library.
Related topics
Dynamics; Ornaments; Note values and rests; Envelopes, LFOs and modulation; Orchestration: families, ranges and blends.