Different Types of Accents in Music

An accent indicates that the note should be emphasized. There are four different ways to create accents: with volume, with length, with articulation, and with vibrato. In this article, you’ll learn about the different types of musical accents and how to play them on the violin.

Traditional Accent

A traditional accent means to play that note louder than those around it. This is primarily done with bow speed. Move the bow faster on this note to create the accent.

Tenuto

A tenuto is an accent done with length rather than volume. A tenuto indicates that you hold that note longer than those around it.

Staccatissimo

Staccatissimo is the opposite of tenuto. It means to play the indicated note shorter than those around it.

Marcato

A marcato accent is performed with articulation and bow speed. With a marcato accent, there needs to be a strong emphasis at the beginning of the note. To create this emphasis, dig your index finger into the string. To avoid making the accent sound crunchy, release the weight of the index finger as soon as you draw the bow, and do so while using a fast bow speed.

Sforzando

A sforzando is the strongest type of accent. It is created with articulation, volume, and bow speed. Similar to the marcato accent, to play a sforzando, start with a heavy amount of weight in your index finger. When you draw the bow, keep most of the weight in the string so that the remainder of the note sounds louder than the marcato accent.

Forte Piano

A forte piano indicates to play either the beginning of the note loudly and the rest of the note softly, or the first note loudly and the next note softly, depending on the context.

Watch the video below for a demonstration of each type of accent.