Staccatissimo

As Printed on a Score

As a sign it is a small vertical wedge or stroke over or under the note; as a word it appears over passages — sempre staccatissimo, staccatissimo ma marcato. In Classical scores the same wedge often meant ordinary staccato, so a reader of Mozart or Beethoven should not assume the extreme shortness the modern sign implies.

How Composers Use It

Staccatissimo produces the shortest possible notes — mere pinpoints of sound. Use it for extreme lightness, dry rhythmic patterns, or sharp percussive effects. On strings, it produces a sharp pizzicato-like sound with the bow.

Example

Mahler, Symphony No. 5, fifth movement (Rondo-Finale), first oboe, m. 416: “staccatissimo” at p; elsewhere in the movement the first bassoon carries “sempre staccatissimo” through a whole passage.

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