Legato and staccato on the piano: how to play smooth and short notes

Two players can press exactly the same notes in exactly the same rhythm and still sound completely different. One of the biggest reasons is articulation: how the notes are joined or separated. This lesson covers the two basic touches every pianist uses, legato (smooth) and staccato (short), and the signs that ask for them.

Legato: smooth and connected

Legato is an Italian word meaning "bound" or "tied together". When you play legato, each note flows straight into the next with no gap of silence between them. The tune sounds like a singer holding one long breath, or a line drawn without lifting the pen.

The secret of legato on the piano is timing between the fingers. Press the next key at the same moment as you let go of the previous one. One finger goes down as the other comes up, like a see-saw. If you let go too early, there is a tiny gap; if you let go too late, the two notes blur together.

Legato is written with a slur: a curved line drawn over or under a group of notes of different pitches. Every note under the curve is played smoothly, joined to the next.

Staccato: short and detached

Staccato means "detached". A staccato note is played short, with a little silence after it. Instead of holding the key down for the note's full length, you play it and lift quickly, letting the key bounce back up.

Staccato is written with a dot above or below the note head. Don't confuse it with the dot written after a note head, which you met with the dotted half note and which makes a note longer. A dot above or below means short; a dot beside means longer.

A staccato note still begins exactly on its beat. Only its ending changes: the sound is cut off early, and the rest of the beat is silent. So the rhythm stays steady, with lighter, bouncier notes.

Seeing both on the staff

The same notes can be played either way. Try bar 1's notes staccato and bar 2's notes legato, and listen to how the character changes completely.

How to play staccato well

Good staccato comes from a light, quick movement, not from jabbing. Think of touching a hot stove, or a ball bouncing off the floor. Let the key push your finger back up. For short notes at a moderate speed, a small bounce from the wrist helps: the hand drops onto the key and springs off.

Keep your fingertips close to the keys between notes. If you leap high off each key, it becomes hard to keep the rhythm even.

Shaping a tune

Most music mixes the two touches. Try the opening of Ode to Joy with bars 1 and 2 smooth, bar 3 short and bar 4 smooth again:

Repeated notes under a slur, like the two Es at the start, cannot be completely joined: you must let the key rise to play it again. Keep the gap as small as possible so the line still sounds connected.

Two pieces with both touches

Staccato Steps is a short Academy piece that alternates the two touches. Its first two bars are slurred, flowing smoothly up and down, then the third bar bounces with staccato dots:

Jingle Bells uses staccato on its repeated notes, which helps them sound like sleigh bells. In the Academy version, each pair of quarter-note Es at the start of the chorus is short and bouncy, followed by a held E. The left hand plays C, F and G chords underneath. You can listen to it on the Jingle Bells song page.

How to practise

1. Play C D E F G F E D C legato, slowly. Listen for the moment of overlap: no gaps and no blurring.
2. Play the same notes staccato, lifting quickly after each one. Keep the beat exactly the same.
3. Alternate: one bar legato, one bar staccato.
4. Play the shaped Ode to Joy, changing touch exactly where the music says.
5. Play Staccato Steps, then the opening of Jingle Bells.
6. Record yourself. On the recording, is the staccato clearly short and the legato clearly smooth?

Common mistakes

• Small gaps in legato. Lifting a finger before the next one plays makes the line choppy. Watch the overlap.
• Rushing staccato. Short notes make it tempting to hurry. The next note still starts on its beat.
• Ignoring the marks. Read every slur and dot; they are as much a part of the music as the notes.
• Confusing the two kinds of dot. Beside the note head: longer. Above or below: shorter.

Try it in Pianuvo

This lesson in Unit 4: Intervals, first chords, legato and staccato has you watch a bar played legato and a bar staccato, play the same steps both ways, shape Ode to Joy and then play Staccato Steps and Jingle Bells with left-hand chords. The exercises listen on screen, through a MIDI keyboard, or to a real piano through your microphone, and a closing quiz checks that you can hear the difference between legato and staccato.