Articulation is the way individual sounds are performed and connected, the musical analogue of diction in speech. It determines how each note is “pronounced”: smoothly and connectedly (legato), short and detached (staccato), emphasised (marcato), or sustained (tenuto).
Articulation fundamentally changes the character of the same melody: played legato, it is singing and lyrical; staccato, playful and sharp. On each instrument articulation is achieved in its own way: on strings by the movement of the bow, on winds by the tongue, on the piano by the touch and release of the finger. Correct, thoughtful articulation is a mark of a performer's true mastery; it gives music clarity, relief, and living “speech.”
