Legato Touch

Over-Legato

It is possible to sustain one tone briefly while another one begins, overlapping the two pitches for a brief instant. Strategic use of the resulting over-legato connection as an expressive device can be very effective. However, a long line of them might soon become tiresome.

In some music of a particularly expressive melodic style, particularly from the 19th or 20th centuries, a subtle over-legato might be used in the following situations:

• in a large ascending skip
• in combination with a “pulling back” to intensify an accent or point of arrival
• at the climax of a phrase or a melodic peak
• an increasing over-legato through a ritard