The ultimate glissando vs portamento topic! ;)

[Netvudu]

hello.
For quite some time I erroneously thought that glissando and portamento were the very same thing, but recently I read they´re not, and how there´s apparently a common confusion between them.

I´ve been trying to find the exact difference, but the definitions I´ve found aren´t clear enough and pretty undescriptive.

Even more, at this very site, the online instrumental studies lack of the same explanation, seeing how string instruments do show them as different techniques but we get no sound snippet or definition for glissando.

Still, my own conclussion so far is that the portamento is kind of smooth, while with the glissando we can distinctly hear each and every tone and semitone (i.e. tones are separated), which would also explain why it describes here portamento as a "suggestion of a glissando".

Still, I´m sure people around here will know it way better than me, seeing how I feel like the retarded of the town every time I read this board [[;)]] . So I start this thread to see if someone can explain properly the difference for me and anybody else who might have the same doubt.

[Netvudu]

ok, give some feedback people. Is it a hard to answer question or a stupid question on my side? Maybe it´s too obvious but I, for one, would like to know the answer, and I pointed it here because it seems to me that the Online Instruments section could benefit from a better definition of these two techniques.

Stil, I appologize if any theory expert thinks this is newbie stuff.


But I insist! [:)]

[cm]

@Netvudu said:

ok, give some feedback people ...

netvudu - as most members of the team are still busy at the NAMM, please be patient with us. i'm sure sabine will step in this topic later next week

christian

[Netvudu]

oh! Sure. I didn´t realize that. You´re right. Sorry. I´ll wait.

[rharper]

A simple explanation: a portamento should be thought of as a "slide" while a glissando consist of individual notes being sounded out however quickly the glissando occurs. Obviously, the musical effect of either one is dependent upon instrument (a piano and pitched mallet instruments are not capable of portamento), range of pitch and of course time.

[sabine]

Hi netvudu!
Sorry for chiming in so late, I came back from NAMM only yesterday (our soundproof booth is definetely a good thing to have for audio demonstrations, but the breakdown of these 8 tons of material after the show takes three days)

I'm sorry we missed to speak about the important difference between portamento and glissando in Instruments Online; we'll catch up on this as soon as possible!!
Rharper already described the basic difference between portamento and glissando. When you play portamento you give the accent to the first and last note, the notes inbetween are not clearly articulated, so you perceive them as a slide, not as independent tones. In glissando every note of the glissando interval is (or should be) really sounded. An exactly articulated, not to fast glissando should allow you to hear accents and define the key it is played in.

And, you're right, musicians sometimes use glissando and portamento as synonyms - I experienced this especially with woodwind players. I suppose this is due to the keywork of woodwind instruments, which does not allow fast and smooth transitions to the same degree as for example the strings. Woodwind players therefore often speak of glissando when they play portamento.

[:)]
sabine

[NG1]

... as do trombone players. Without exception, in my experience, 'bone players always refer to their pitch effects as gliss's not portamentos. As do the rest of the brass, but in those cases the aforementioned comments about woodwinds would apply as well.

It's good to know what is correct though since I've found it confusing myself at times.

[William]

There is no strict definition used practically by performing musicians (though maybe dictionary writers have one) but normally, if you say at an orchestra rehearsal you want a glissando it will be more exaggerated slide - like for example in Ravel's orchestration of the Mother Goose Suite, the glissando in the Beauty and the Beast section - and a portamento is more "tasteful" or integrated into the musical line. Another example is where Mahler specifies the rather syrupy downward slides in the 2nd symphony 2nd movement. Those are definitely glisses, whereas the normal smooth connection between notes in other legato lines that are written with slurs could very well be played portamento if the conductor says to take it all on one bow or simply legato with smooth changes in bow direction. Probably if you asked five conductors you would get five answers.

[Fergus Currie]

 As a professional orchestral musician I will tell you that when you are asked to play portamento, you play each note quite normally but in transitioning from one to the next there should be no break in the sound and the time taken to get from one to the other is just a little longer. This results in a very short 'slide' only in the transition. A glissando on the other hand is when the change from one pitch to the other covers the whole value of the notelength (or a significant part of it).

Notationally this is written with either one note and a line to the next with the word glissando, or, if the glissando starts somewhere in the middle of the note, the first part of the note is tied to the second part (where the glissando starts) and the line is drawn from this tied note to the next again with the word Glissando, or gliss. beside it.

Think of glissandi as contiuous change from one PITCH to another and portamento as an audible shift from one NOTE to another.

I hope this helps,

FC