Accentato

As Printed on a Score

Printed above or below the staff at the passage it governs, often combined with a character word (accentato ed appassionato assai). It holds until another articulation or character word; individual accents may still be shown with signs.

Also spelled: accentuato

How Composers Use It

Accented: a verbal version of the accent mark, useful when every note of a passage needs stress and printing the signs would clutter the page. Most players read it as milder than marcato. The form accentuato is also found, especially in accentuato il canto, which asks for the melody to be brought out.

Example

Liszt, Transcendental Étude No. 10 in F minor, m. 22: “accentato ed appassionato assai.”

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