Staccato + tenuto

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Staccato + tenuto

2011-03-21 08:06 am

I'm notating a score for sax quartet and this score has lots of notes both staccato and tenuto.
(Don't ask me how they actually are supposed to be played: I don't know, and I'm not a sax player :-)

I discovered that NWC doesn't allow the two articulations to coexist.

Furthermore, sometimes the tenuto marker is very slim and/or almost overlaps the score lines.
N.B. I'm talking about video rendering, including print preview. I haven't printed the score (yet).

Re: Staccato + tenuto

Reply #1 – 2011-03-21 08:55 am

Quote from: Flurmy – 2011-03-21 08:06 am

I discovered that NWC doesn't allow the two articulations to coexist.

This is fixed in Beta 2.5 Preview 5 (yeah!)

Quote from: Flurmy – 2011-03-21 08:06 am

Furthermore, sometimes the tenuto marker is very slim and/or almost overlaps the score lines.
N.B. I'm talking about video rendering, including print preview. I haven't printed the score (yet).

NWC does not follow standard convention when Articulations appear near the staff. Staccato and tenuto should be centered in staff spaces and no closer to top and bottom staff lines than when within the staff. Beta 2.5 better facilitates using text to replace the accidentals, an ugly workaround, but an improvement.

The following requires NWC 2.5+

Code: (nwc) [Select · Download]

!NoteWorthyComposerClip(2.5,Single)
|Note|Dur:4th,Tenuto|Pos:-2
|Text|Text:"C"|Font:StaffSymbols|Pos:-5|Justify:Center|Placement:AtNextNote
|Note|Dur:4th|Pos:-2
!NoteWorthyComposerClip-End

Re: Staccato + tenuto

Reply #2 – 2011-03-21 09:32 am

Quote

This is fixed in Beta 2.5 Preview 5 (yeah!)

I checked some other things with Beta 2.5 but I forgot to check that!

By the way: any idea on how to actually play them?

Re: Staccato + tenuto

Reply #3 – 2011-03-21 09:38 am

Quote from: Flurmy – 2011-03-21 09:32 am

By the way: any idea on how to actually play them?

Yeah, but I'll keep it to myself. It is called portato. A search will provide lots of opinions.

Re: Staccato + tenuto

Reply #4 – 2011-03-21 03:33 pm

This is Rick's just adding the Staccato attribute to the 2nd note and works in both Edit and Viewer mode.

Code: [Select · Download]

!NoteWorthyComposerClip(2.5,Single)
|Note|Dur:4th,Tenuto|Pos:-2
|Text|Text:"C"|Font:StaffSymbols|Pos:-6|Justify:Center|Placement:AtNextNote
|Note|Dur:4th,Staccato|Pos:-2
!NoteWorthyComposerClip-End

Re: Staccato + tenuto

Reply #5 – 2011-03-21 04:28 pm

Quote from: Warren Porter – 2011-03-21 03:33 pm

works in both Edit and Viewer mode.

But it is easier to do this in NWC 2.5+

Code: (nwc) [Select · Download]

!NoteWorthyComposerClip(2.5,Single)
|Note|Dur:4th,Staccato,Tenuto|Pos:-2
!NoteWorthyComposerClip-End

Playback is what I would expect:

Quote from: mf2t

1:0:0 On ch=1 note=g5 vol=116
1:0:128 On ch=1 note=g5 vol=0

Vertical positioning is not acceptable to me, so I'll still be using text in some of my work.

Re: Staccato + tenuto

Reply #6 – 2011-03-22 07:51 am

Quote

By the way: any idea on how to actually play them?

Since I play at being a sax player, I'll try to answer this.

Smoothly/evenly but detached. Sort of a square shape to the note. When I read a note like that, I play it firmly with a little stress, without changing the volume of the note. A clear beginning and ending to the note. tongued but with no harshness in the attack. Separated from the notes before and after, but with but very little space between the notes. Nearly full value to the length of the note.

Am I right? Probably not, but that's how I play it.

Lawrie would encounter this type of note on trombone, too. Lawrie, is my description close to how you would play it?

Re: Staccato + tenuto

Reply #7 – 2011-03-22 11:06 am

Amost - I would read the staccato as a reduced duration and the tenuto as a stress marker - not so much as an accent but more than a "normal" note - so, shortish and somewhat stressed, definitely maintain the stress for the full duration that you play the note, not "tailing off" or diminuendo.

Re: Staccato + tenuto

Reply #8 – 2011-03-22 11:28 am

Interpretations vary, but I read it as a variation of the length of staccato. The shortest is the wedge, 1/4 the value of the note; next is the dot, 1/2 the value of the note; and finally the tenuto/stacato, 3/4 the value of the note. This works for much of the classic and romantic period music, but not all composers have this understanding, so use your own research and judgement.