Legato vs Staccato

Side-by-side comparison of two musical terms.

	Legato	Staccato
Definition	Smooth, connected	Short, detached notes
Category	articulation	articulation
Pronunciation	leh-GAH-toh	stah-KAH-toh
Origin	Italian	Italian
BPM	—	—
Synonyms	smooth connected	short detached clipped
Antonyms	staccato marcato	legato sostenuto
Usage	The cello melody should be played legato, imitating the human voice.	The violins play the theme staccato in the scherzo, giving it a playful character.

Definition: Smooth, connected
Category: articulation
Pronunciation: leh-GAH-toh
Origin: Italian
Synonyms: smooth connected
Antonyms: staccato marcato
Usage: The cello melody should be played legato, imitating the human voice.

Definition: Short, detached notes
Category: articulation
Pronunciation: stah-KAH-toh
Origin: Italian
Synonyms: short detached clipped
Antonyms: legato sostenuto
Usage: The violins play the theme staccato in the scherzo, giving it a playful character.