Music notation glossary · Articulation
Staccato
detached, short
In the score
What it means
A dot above or below the notehead. The note is played about half its written length — the time stays, the sound shortens.
Articulation
The dot above or below the notehead: the note sounds for about half of its written length, and the rest of the value is silence. It is the most common articulation mark there is, and it never means a different tempo — only a shorter note.
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See AnotonaEvery note on this page is computed, not typed in — following the rule that also makes F# major spell its seventh degree E#, not F.