Articulation & Ornaments

Marcato

Pronounced mar-KAH-tohWritten as ^

Definition

Marcato means marked: play the note with a strong, heavy accent. Its sign is a small upright wedge (^), and the word marcato over a passage asks for every note to be clearly emphasized.

Marcato is Italian for "marked." As a sign, it is an upright wedge shaped like a little roof (^), usually printed above the staff. It asks for a strong accent: heavier and more emphatic than an ordinary accent (>). As a word written over a passage, marcato (or ben marcato, "well marked") asks you to play every note there in a clear, emphatic, slightly separated way.

Two treble-clef examples in 4/4. Each has quarter notes G4, C5, E5, C5, then a half note G5 and a half rest. In the first, G4, E5 and G5 have accent signs; in the second, the same notes have marcato signs above the staff. — The same phrase twice. Left: accents (>) on the first G, the E and the high G. Right: marcato signs (^) on the same notes, which ask for a heavier, more emphatic stress.

How to play marcato

Give the note a firm, decisive start and a full, solid tone. Where an accent is a quick push at the start of a note, marcato puts weight behind the whole attack. On the piano that usually means using the weight of the arm rather than just the finger; on strings, a heavy stroke with a clear bite; on winds and brass, a strong tongue and a solid column of air.

How long the note lasts depends on the style. Marcato notes are very often slightly detached. In jazz and big-band charts the ^, which players nickname the "rooftop" or "housetop" accent, is usually played short and strong. In a slow orchestral or choral passage, a marcato note may be held for nearly its whole value, just with more weight. When it also carries a staccato dot, play it both short and strong.

Marcato, accent or staccatissimo?

> sideways wedge: accent, a stressed start.
^ upright wedge: marcato, a heavier stress.
A small solid wedge right at the notehead: staccatissimo, very short but not necessarily loud.

If the wedge looks like a roof over the note, it is marcato.

The word marcato in a piece

You will often find the word on a melody that has to cut through a busy accompaniment, or on a bass line that drives the rhythm. A direction such as marcato il basso ("the bass marked") points the emphasis at one part only, so the other lines stay lighter.

Common questions

What does the ^ symbol mean in music?

It is a marcato, or strong accent: play the note with a heavy, decisive stress, stronger than an ordinary accent (>). In jazz and big-band music it is usually played short as well.