Lesson plan
Tenuto
{{Image frame|content= { \override Score.TimeSignature #'stencil = ##f \relative c { a4-- b-- c2-- } } |width=120|caption=Three notes with tenuto marks}} In musical notation, tenuto (Italian, past participle of tenere, ), written as a horizontal bar above or below a note, is a direction for the performer to hold or sustain a note for its full length. Its precise interpretation can be somewhat contextual in practice, especially when combined with dynamic directions affecting loudness. In that case, it can mean either accent the note in question by holding it to its full length (or longer, with slight rubato), or play the note slightly louder. In other words, the tenuto mark may alter the length of a note at the same time a dynamic mark adjusts its volume. Either way, the tenuto marking indicates that a note should receive some degree of emphasis. Tenuto is one of the earliest directions to appear in music notation. Notker of St. Gall (c. 840–912) discusses the use of the letter t in plainsong notation as meaning trahere vel tenere debere ("one must carry or hold") in one of his letters. The mark's meaning may also be affected when it appears in conjunction with other durational articulations. When it appears with a staccato dot, it means non legato or detached.
Article summary
{{Image frame|content= { \override Score.TimeSignature #'stencil = ##f \relative c { a4-- b-- c2-- } } |width=120|caption=Three notes with tenuto marks}} In musical notation, tenuto (Italian, past participle of tenere, ), written as a horizontal bar above or below a note, is a direction for the performer to hold or sustain a note for its full length. Its precise interpretation can be somewhat contextual in practice, especially when combined with dynamic directions affecting loudness. In that case, it can mean either accent the note in question by holding it to its full length (or longer, with slight rubato), or play the note slightly louder. In other words, the tenuto mark may alter the length of a note at the same time a dynamic mark adjusts its volume. Either way, the tenuto marking indicates that a note should receive some degree of emphasis. Tenuto is one of the earliest directions to appear in music notation. Notker of St. Gall (c. 840–912) discusses the use of the letter t in plainsong notation as meaning trahere vel tenere debere ("one must carry or hold") in one of his letters. The mark's meaning may also be affected when it appears in conjunction with other durational articulations. When it appears with a staccato dot, it means non legato or detached.
Key claims
No claims recorded.
Discussion questions
- Summarise the article in your own words. Which single claim would you verify first, and why?
- Which claim in this article is most likely to be revised as the sources update? How would you check its current status?
- If two sources disagreed about one of these facts, what would you need in order to trust one over the other?
Bibliography
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Key claims and bibliography are generated from the same tracked claims and sources as the article page.