Articulation in Music

Articulation in Music

Open Ended

In your own words, what does articulation mean?

Articulation

• changes in the character of the sound

• refers to how specific notes or passages are played or sung

• Written for individual notes or for a longer musical passage

Multiple Select

What is an articulation? (check all that apply)

• making sure everything is perfect

• character of sound

• refers to how specific notes or passages are played or sung

Single Note Articulations

• Staccato - short or separated

• Staccastissimo - shorter and edgier than staccato

• Marcato - strongly emphasize the note

• Accent - played more forcefully than the note before

• Tenuto - held to its full value

Multiple Choice

What articulation is the following image?

• Accent

• Marcato

Multiple Choice

What articulation is the following image?

• Tenuto

• Accent

Multiple Choice

What articulation is the following image?

• Tenuto

• Staccatissimo

Multiple Choice

What articulation is the following image?

• Staccatissimo

• Staccato

Multiple Choice

What articulation is the following image?

• Marcato

• Staccato

Notation for Phrases

• Crescendo - gradually play louder

• Diminuendo/decrescendo - gradually play softer

• Tie - connects notes of the SAME pitch, play them as one note

• Slur - connects different notes, to be played with no tongue

• Legato - smooth and connected

Multiple Choice

What is a crescendo?

• Gradually getting louder

• Gradually getting softer

• Play at the same volume

Multiple Choice

What is a diminuendo/decrescendo?

• Gradually getting louder

• Gradually getting softer

• Staying the same volume

Multiple Choice

Is the following image an example of a slur or a tie?

• Tie

• Slur

Multiple Choice

Is the following image an example of a slur or a tie?

• Tie

• Slur

Multiple Choice

A tie connects two or more different notes.

• True

• False

Multiple Choice

A slur connects two or more different notes

• True

• False

Multiple Choice

Which articulation is identified by a symbol that looks like an exclamation point without the dot?

• Marcato

• Tenuto

• Staccatissimo

• Staccato

Multiple Choice

On written music, how do musicians know to perform certain notes in a specific way, for example, smooth and connected or short and edge?

• They guess and play it how they think it should sound.

• They decide to interpret it in the manner they like best. There is no right or wrong.

• They listen to recordings to understand how the composer wanted it to be played or sung.

• Through articulation, which is identified by the specific notation in written music.

Multiple Choice

Of the following terms, which is the name for the mark that tells a musician, perhaps playing a trumpet or clarinet, that an individual note is to be held to its full value?

• staccato

• legato

• pizzicato

• tenuto

Multiple Choice

Which of the following musical notations tells a musician to connect two or more notes of the SAME pitch within or across the bar line?

• Tenudo

• Tie

• Slur

• Legato

Poll

Do you have a better understanding of some of the different articulations used in music?

• Yes

• No

Multiple Choice

Which of the following statements about articulation in music in NOT true?

• Articulation is like a foreign language. The more you learn the more you understand about how a piece of music should be played.

• Articulation is identify by specific notation, some of which is for individual notes and some of which is for phrases.

• Articulation may signal if a note is long or short, but never has anything to do with how loud or soft the note might be played.

• Some articulation is meant for specific types of instruments, like bowing marks for strings.