Sostenuto vs Staccato

Side-by-side comparison of two musical terms.

	Sostenuto	Staccato
Definition	Sustained, holding notes for their full value with a smooth connected quality	Short, detached notes
Category	articulation	articulation
Pronunciation	soh-steh-NOO-toh	stah-KAH-toh
Origin	Italian	Italian
BPM	—	—
Synonyms	—	short detached clipped
Antonyms	—	legato sostenuto
Usage	—	The violins play the theme staccato in the scherzo, giving it a playful character.

Definition: Sustained, holding notes for their full value with a smooth connected quality
Category: articulation
Pronunciation: soh-steh-NOO-toh
Origin: Italian

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.