Portamento
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Portamento (plural: portamenti, literally "carried") is a musical term originated from Italian primarily denoting a vocal slide between two pitches and its emulation by instruments such as the violin, and is sometimes used [1] interchangeably with anticipation. It is also applied to one type of glissando as well as to the "slide" or "bend" functions of synthesizers. (see main article glissando).
[edit] Vocal portamento
In the first example, Rodolfo's first aria in La Sonnambula (1831), the portamento is indicated by the slur between the 3rd and 4th notes. The second example, Judit's first line in Duke Bluebeard's Castle (1912), employs a more explicit notation; the portamento usually arrives ahead of time at the pitch of the second note. It may of course also be used for descending intervals.
[edit] See also
- Glissando, a similar effect to portamento which moves in discrete steps; for example, dragging a finger over the keys of the piano
- Vibrato, a repetitive oscillation about a single pitch that occurs in rapid cycles
- Portato, a musical term denoting an articulation
- Port de voix, an appogiatura, usually ascending
- Pitch wheel, the usual method of pitch bending on a synthesizer.
[edit] References
- Katz, Mark (December 2006). "Portamento and the Phonograph Effect". Journal of Musicological Research 25 (3–4): 211–32. doi:.
- Gauldin, Robert (1985). A Practical Approach to Sixteenth-Century Counterpoint. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice Hall. OCLC 59143146.[page needed]
- ^ Gauldin might be the only writer to do so.
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