staccato (stakkato)

[ abrupt; separated from one another by slight pauses: used both of single tones in a melody and of chords: opposed to legato. Three grades of staccato are sometimes recognized the slightest being marked by dots over or under the notes with a sweeping curve ( a ), the next by dots without the curve (b), and the greatest by pointed strokes instead of dots (c). In each IMG:content-1935.png:[blocks in formation]