13

In a beginners piano scorebook, under the last cord there is a V with a dot in it. I searched but can't find what it could mean. In case that matters, it's a French book.

V with dot in final chord

There is no other place in the score where I can find this symbol. What should I do with it or how to play this? Thank you!

Improve this question
23

It's called a "staccato duro", and as the other answer correctly wrote, it's a marked staccato, i.e. shorter than the note duration and with force.

For future reference: all musical symbols and their explanations can be found on dolmetsch

Improve this answer
10

It's a combination of the wedge (marcato) and the dot (staccato). The note is to be played shorter than normal (like a staccato) but forcefully (like with the wedge.) I didn't find a specific name for the symbol.

Improve this answer
7

It could also be a short fermata. It is a lesser-known mark signifying that a note is to be played longer than the indicated duration, but only slightly longer.

See this page for an explanation.

fermata types

Improve this answer
3
  • 3
    Gardner Read's "Music Notation" (1979), p. 108, calls the blue and green versions a modern innovation. (So it's not found in music before 1945.) The traditional notation would be to add a lunga or a poco to the traditional fermata. – Camille Goudeseune Aug 9 '20 at 21:05
  • 2
    If it were any sort of fermata, it would be above the staff, not below the note. – phoog Aug 10 '20 at 3:47
  • 3
    @phoog - usually, but not always. – Tim Aug 10 '20 at 6:18
3

Called 'martellato', it's to make sure the note(s) is/are played strongly, hammered. Not necessarily staccato as such. Used more often in violin music - a strong downbow from the frog - but also piano and vox.

Improve this answer
2
  • Interesting. I've never seen other than the crescent. I have seen (and used) fermatas over different length notes (quarter, half, whole, tied wholes) to indicate the length of the fermata. The angular one is a right angle which differs from the dotted wedge in having a bigger angle. I probably would have read the green version as a staccato down-bow. – ttw Aug 9 '20 at 17:24
  • 2
    @ttw did you mean to comment on my answer rather than Tim's? – KeizerHarm Aug 9 '20 at 20:53

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service, privacy policy and cookie policy

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.