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Articulation & Ornaments

Tenuto

Pronounced teh-NOO-tohWritten as ten.

Definition

A tenuto is a short horizontal line above or below a note that asks you to hold it for its full value, often with a little extra weight. The abbreviation ten. means the same thing.

A tenuto is a short horizontal line written just above or below the notehead, on the side away from the stem. Tenuto is Italian for "held": the mark asks you to hold the note for its full written value, and often to give it a little extra weight. The abbreviation ten. means the same thing in words.

Two treble-clef examples in 4/4. The first has quarter notes E4, E4, G4, G4, A4, A4 with tenuto lines and a final half note G4. The second has the same notes with staccato dots instead.
Top: tenuto lines on repeated E, G and A, each held for its full value, with only the smallest break to replay the key. Bottom: the same notes with staccato dots, each one short. The half note G at the end has no mark.

What a tenuto asks for

Two things, and the music decides how much of each:

  1. Full length. Hold the note right up to the next one. With repeated notes, as in the example, that means releasing only at the very last moment, just long enough to play the key again.
  2. A little weight. Lean gently into the note, as if pressing it into the keys or the string. It is softer and broader than an accent, which is a sharper attack.

Some players also stretch a tenuto note by a hair, an emphasis made with time rather than volume. That can be lovely on the top note of a phrase, but keep it small, or the beat starts to wobble.

Where you will see it

  • On one note the composer wants to stand out gently, such as the peak of a phrase or a dissonant note that resolves.
  • Over repeated notes or chords that should not sound clipped.
  • Together with a staccato dot, which makes portato: slightly separated, but weighted.

Tenuto, accent and fermata

These three marks are easy to mix up. Tissimo's Fermata, Tenuto & Accent sums them up as hold, lean, punch: a fermata holds the note longer than written, a tenuto leans into it for its full value, and an accent punches the start of it.

Common questions

Does tenuto mean to hold the note longer?

It means hold the note for its full value, with a little weight. Some players add a tiny stretch, but a note held clearly longer than written is a fermata, not a tenuto.

What is the difference between tenuto and accent?

An accent makes the start of the note stronger. A tenuto keeps the note full and gently weighted from start to end. Think of an accent as a punch and a tenuto as a lean.

Practice it: free worksheets