Accent

What it means

An accent marks a note for emphasis. The symbol is a horizontal wedge, >, placed above or below the note head. It sits in the notation section of the dictionary.

It is the most common emphasis marking and the mildest of the standard family.

How strong

Milder than a sforzando, and relative to the prevailing dynamic like all emphasis markings.

An accent in a piano passage is a gentle lean. An accent in a fortissimo passage is substantial.

The general sense is that the note should be noticeably stronger than those around it, without the disruptive suddenness of a sforzando.

Students often treat accents as small sforzandos, which overplays them. An accent is closer to a spoken emphasis than to a shout.

How it is produced on violin

Several mechanisms depending on context, and choosing the right one is part of the skill.

A slight pinch and release, as in a small martele. Produces a clear attack. Suits accents in articulated passages.

A faster start to the bow stroke, with the speed decreasing after. Produces emphasis without a hard attack. Suits accents within legato passages.

More weight at the start, released immediately. The gentlest mechanism.

A slightly closer contact point for that note, producing a brighter and more present sound rather than a louder one.

Within a slur, where the bow cannot stop, the second and third mechanisms are the available ones. An accent inside a slur is produced by a pulse of speed or weight, not by an attack. Our metronome is free and useful here.

The family of emphasis markings

Worth laying out together, since students confuse them.

> accent. Emphasis, moderate.

^ marcato. Stronger emphasis, and usually also more separated. Sometimes called the roof or the hat.

sf, sfz sforzando. Sudden, forced, often disruptive.

tenuto, a horizontal line above the note. Full length, gentle emphasis, held.

staccato, a dot. Short, and not an emphasis marking though students sometimes read it as one.

Combinations occur. A tenuto over a staccato dot means moderately separated, in between the two. An accent with a tenuto means emphasised and held full length.

Accent and rhythm

Accents frequently exist to clarify or disrupt the metre.

An accent on a strong beat reinforces the metre.

An accent on a weak beat disrupts it, creating syncopation. Composers use this constantly, and the accent is what makes the syncopation register.

Playing accents accurately therefore matters rhythmically as well as dynamically. A missed accent on an off-beat removes the syncopation the composer wrote.

Natural accents

Worth distinguishing from written ones.

Music has inherent metrical accents: the first beat of a bar is naturally stronger than the others, the third beat in common time moderately so.

These are not written because they are assumed. A player produces them without instruction.

Written accents either reinforce these natural ones or contradict them. When they contradict, the effect is deliberate and playing it flatly loses the point.

In an ensemble

Accents must align precisely or they smear.

Because the emphasis is at the start of the note, timing precision matters more than volume matching.

Sections rehearse accented passages for exactly this reason, and a section where accents land together sounds sharp where one that does not sounds muddy.

Editorial accents

A caution.

Many accents in printed editions were added by editors rather than composers, particularly in older repertoire.

An urtext edition distinguishes them, usually with brackets or a different typeface. A performing edition may not.

Knowing whether an accent is the composer's instruction or an editor's suggestion changes how strictly it should be observed.

How it is taught

Early, as one of the first articulation markings after staccato.

The two lessons that matter: it is relative to the surrounding dynamic, and its strength sits below sforzando and marcato in the family.

The refinement, later, is choosing the right production mechanism for the context, particularly within slurs where the bow cannot attack.

Accents inside slurs

The situation students find hardest, and it comes up constantly.

Within a slur the bow cannot stop, so an accent cannot be produced by an attack. Three mechanisms remain.

A pulse of bow speed. The bow briefly accelerates at the accented note, then returns to its previous speed. Produces emphasis without interruption.

A pulse of weight. The index finger applies and releases pressure. Produces a gentler emphasis. This is essentially portato applied to one note.

A finger articulation. The left hand finger drops slightly more firmly, adding a small attack from the left rather than the right hand.

The first two are the usual choices. The third is subtle and useful in very legato contexts.

The over-accent problem

Students reading an accent frequently produce a sforzando.

The accent mark is the mildest of the standard emphasis family. It means lean on this note, not attack it.

The test: after playing an accented passage, ask whether the accents sound like emphasis or like interruption. If the line breaks at each accent, they are too strong.

Soul Music Lessons teaches private and group violin lessons in Alpharetta, Duluth, Peachtree Corners and Marietta. If reading and notation is what you are working on, book a no-commitment evaluation lesson and bring it to the first session. Call 470-789-2422.