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Between legato and staccato — slightly separated but not as detached as staccato. Marked with dots under a slur.
Shown not by a word but by signs: staccato dots under a slur, or tenuto lines under a slur (louré). Each note is gently separated within the phrase, for as long as the signs continue. On string parts the slur means one bow with small separations; on the keyboard, a slight lift between notes.
Portato (also called mezzo-staccato or louré) asks for a gentle pulsing within a connected line — each note has a slight articulation but the overall effect is smooth. Use it for expressive passages that need definition without losing the singing quality.
Portato is one of 1760 terms in the Gradus musical dictionary: the words, abbreviations and instrument names that appear in printed scores, plus the vocabulary composers use to talk about them.
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