IT tenuto articulation core term Support my free tools
Music symbols
- Abbreviation
- ten.
How is tenuto played?
Carry the marked note through its intended written duration instead of clipping it, giving it presence or slight stress when the style and phrase call for that. A short horizontal line is the common graphic sign, whereas ten. is the text abbreviation; neither by itself requires a fixed extension beyond the beat or a measured increase in loudness. Historical and modern references allow full value, slight prolongation and/or emphasis, so the local score decides the balance. Combined with a staccato dot, the line participates in a separate detached or non-legato articulation. The Italian word comes from tenere, to hold, but every instrument realizes that instruction differently.
How does tenuto sound?
A note that sounds full, weighted and deliberately leaned-on, sustained to its end.
In context
The historical Grove dictionary, Riemann/Reissmann entries, OnMusic and Dolmetsch independently expand ten. as tenuto. These sources support full duration and contextual weight while also showing why tenuto is not merely a generic long note. Dorico classifies the line with duration articulations, but the line remains a graphic symbol rather than the textual contraction. Tenuto is a general convention with no exclusive composer association.
Equivalent terms
- FR tenu
- FR soutenu
- DE gehalten
- DE getragen
- EN held
- EN sustained