Staccato vs Tenuto

Side-by-side comparison of two musical terms.

	Staccato	Tenuto
Definition	Short, detached notes	Held for its full value; sustained with emphasis.
Category	articulation	articulation
Pronunciation	stah-KAH-toh	teh-NOO-toh
Origin	Italian	Italian
BPM	—	—
Synonyms	short detached clipped	held sustained
Antonyms	legato sostenuto	Staccato Spiccato
Usage	The violins play the theme staccato in the scherzo, giving it a playful character.	The tenuto marking on each crotchet gives the passage a weighty, deliberate character.

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.

Definition: Held for its full value; sustained with emphasis.
Category: articulation
Pronunciation: teh-NOO-toh
Origin: Italian
Synonyms: held sustained
Antonyms: Staccato Spiccato
Usage: The tenuto marking on each crotchet gives the passage a weighty, deliberate character.