IT legato articulation core term Support my free tools
- Abbreviation
- leg.
How is legato played?
Join successive notes into one seamless line, shaping a connected breath, bow or gesture rather than re-attacking each note. The instruction may be written as legato or, more commonly, shown by a slur over or under the relevant group; unlike a tie, the slur connects different notes. Its implications for bowing, tonguing, breath, fingering and phrasing are instrument-specific, and it does not always exclude the slightest separation—only an audible silence. Legato stands at the connected end of a continuum through non legato to staccato, lasts for the marked span, and has direct equivalents in French lié and German gebunden; the Italian literally means 'tied together'.
How does legato sound?
A smooth, singing, unbroken line in which each note flows into the next.
In context
Standard references define legato as smooth, connected playing, commonly notated with a slur and opposed to staccato; as a general technique it has no single composer association. Historical dictionaries, Duden, Oxford and American Heritage attest leg., while Trinity and A-R print the complete word. The abbreviation is therefore established but dependent on editorial house style.