IT marcato articulation core term Support my free tools
Music symbols
- Abbreviation
- marc.
How is marcato played?
Give the indicated note, figure or passage a deliberate, strongly marked profile. A stronger attack or stress is central, while loudness and duration remain relative to the surrounding notation: marcato is often forceful and can be shorter in some styles, but the written word does not universally require every note to be both louder and staccato-short. The vertical wedge is a related force-articulation sign, distinct from the horizontal accent and from the textual form marc. French marqué and German markiert are equivalents, not expansions of this Italian abbreviation; follow slurs and dynamics independently.
How does marcato sound?
Strong, deliberate, punched-out notes that stand clearly forward from the texture.
In context
Italian marcato means marked or stressed. Musicca, the historical Reissmann lexicon and the Klavarskribo dictionary independently expand marc. as marcato. Dorico’s separation of force and duration articulations supports narrowing the baseline claim that every marcato must be both louder and shorter; the passage word and the wedge remain related but distinct notation channels.