FR léger articulation core term Support my free tools
light or slight in character, touch or motion; write léger in full
How is léger played?
Play with lightness and avoid unnecessary heaviness while retaining enough support for clarity. Depending on context, the word can colour touch, bow use, articulation, texture or character. Light does not automatically mean soft, fast, short, thin or unsupported; those parameters remain separately notated. Debussy’s phrase “léger, égal et lointain” shows that evenness and distance are additional qualities rather than components of léger itself.
How does léger sound?
The music sounds light, airy and unforced.
In context
French léger means light or slight and appears in full in French score language. Debussy combines it with separate qualifiers, while Danhauser’s Legg. expands Italian leggiero rather than French léger. No French contraction met the evidence threshold.
Equivalent terms
- IT leggiero
- IT leggero
- DE leicht
- EN light