legato

Legato (pronounced leh-GAH-toh) is an Italian word used in music to describe notes that are played or sung smoothly and in a connected way. It is the opposite of staccato, where notes are short and separate. Think of a singer gliding from one note to the next, or a violin line that sounds like one unbroken stream. That is legato.

The word is still used mostly in music, especially in written instructions for performers and in descriptions of singing or instrumental playing. A pianist, flutist, or singer may be asked to perform a passage legato so that each note joins the next with as little break as possible.

Outside music, people sometimes use legato in a figurative way for a voice, style, or movement that feels smooth and flowing. That use is less common, but it keeps the same basic idea of gentle connection without sudden jumps.

So when you hear a melody that seems to pour forward in one connected line, you are hearing the true sense of legato: smooth, joined, and flowing.