One of the most popular tricks one may encounter during music education is the legato. It is quite difficult to master and even harder to use. So what is a legato? There are many terms in music that come from the Italian language. Legato is one of them. According to the glossary of musical terms, this is a coherent performance of sounds, when one moves to another without a break between them.
Playing legato style music means that each individual note has some ability to merge with the next. In the musical note there are symbols that show the musician that he must play a certain musical passage in a special way of performance. The legato symbol is indicated in the musical notation in the form of an arcuate line that connects the corresponding notes, stretching above or below them. This sign can stretch through short or long sections in a piece of music.
Historically, the legato as a style of play began to gain popularity at the beginning of the XIX century, when the romantic period came into full force. One of the theories underlying its growing popularity during this period was the emergence of new keyboard wooden instruments such as oboe and clarinet, which are much easier to play in a smooth legato style, since stopping and starting playing music on them required considerable effort.
Features of the performance of legato on various musical instruments
On every musical instrument, legato performance is achieved differently. When playing wind instruments, such as a flute, to create a legato, the musician will play all the notes with one breath. On a stringed instrument, notes will be played in one movement of the bow. Guitar legato is achieved by using techniques such as hammer on and pull off.
Legato is a kind of umbrella term that uses several different connotations depending on the context and type of instrument being played.
How to play legato on a guitar?
The technique involves using sound with a long sustain (duration of the extracted note) and avoiding over-plucking the strings with your right hand. Instead, hammer on is used to create a smooth ride of interlocking notes. A hammer is performed not by pulling a string, but by clicking on it or as if "hammering" an additional finger of the leading hand. Pull of is the opposite action when you need to pull the string strongly to create a sound.
Many guitar learners are wondering how to learn how to master these techniques. The secret is to practice as much as possible to achieve clean performance.
Legato in the piano
Meanwhile, it should be understood what the legato on the piano is, how it is achieved. This is due to the combined use of techniques with smooth fingering and a sustain pedal, which increases the duration of the notes when the hands move to play the next note or chord, after which the foot can be removed from the pedal, so that the transition occurs with a minimally noticeable gap.
As one key is released, the next one in the sequence is pressed so as not to leave a gap between the sounds. This requires very carefully selected fingering, and in some types of transitions coordination of the wrist and muscle groups of the upper arm.
Legato in playing classical stringed instruments
Legato is especially effective when playing string instruments, when the bow allows you to slide between notes in a combination of legato and portamento (moving from one step to another). You can understand what legato is when playing stringed instruments by studying the following ways of playing:
- Several notes on the same string are captured by one movement of the bow, stopping the string with different fingers.
- A bow changes direction between two notes with a minimum gap.
- The bow changes the angle to play the next note on an adjacent string.
When is a legato required?
Now that it’s become clear what legato is, you need to figure out when to use it. This is a difficult question. Sometimes this is part of a stylistically appropriate practice of performing a particular type of play, and no special instructions in music are required. This is sometimes indicated by the Italian word "legato" or by the presence of the marking slur.
An incessantly beautiful legato is extremely difficult to achieve on the piano. This has been taught all my life. A good teacher will work tirelessly to teach and help cope with legato performance from the earliest stages of training, practicing physical movements and developing critical hearing for this purpose.