staccato
Notes played short and detached from each other. Marked with a dot above or below the note.
In Depth
Staccato means detached — notes are shortened and separated by silence, creating a crisp, pointillistic effect. A staccato note typically lasts about half its written value, though the exact length depends on the tempo, style, and context. The marking is a small dot placed above or below the note head.
Staccato is one of the most fundamental articulation markings. On a piano, it means lifting the finger quickly after striking the key. For string players, it involves stopping the bow or using short, separate strokes. For wind players, it requires precise tonguing. The opposite of staccato is legato (smooth and connected), and the interplay between the two creates much of music's rhythmic and textural variety.
Mozart's musical shorthand for staccato was so inconsistent in his manuscripts that scholars have debated for centuries whether certain dots in his scores mean staccato or merely ink blots.