in printed music, what does a tiny circle directly above a note mean?

Question

I'm referring to a small 'o' shape above the note in woodwind music. (I'm asking for a knowing answer 'cos I'm an advanced musician)

Answer 1

I'm not sure I've ever seen it in wind music parts, but it can often be seen in string music - it means to play a harmonic.

Answer 2

The chords, if written above the music, would be played simultaneously. D5 is a power chord, or at least that's what it's called on guitar, and as for D/G, there ought to be a chord diagram either at the beginning or end of the piece of music, or if you play guitar, you could go out and buy a chord book, or use an online chord book. D/G just means that somebody either used an existing chord, or made a D build G chord, where they used notes from both the D and G scales. Hope this helps. If all else fails, just ask a guitarist over to jam. If he's had any lessons at all, he'll be able to hold a chord that, if not perfect, would at least sit pretty in place of D/G.

Answer 3

A small black dot above a note is stacatto.
Notes identified as staccato should be played or sung abruptly and short.
The stem a has to be pointed down for the dot indicating staccato to be above it. The stem goes up from the note, the dot is below it.

However, if you are refering to a small circle, like a tiny 'o' you are refering to a very rare type of notation used in percussion. It indicates that a person should play a hi-hat open, as opposed to closed.

Trust me, I'm a music student.

Answer 4

Indicates that notes are sounded in a detached and distinctly separate manner, with silence making up the latter part of the time allocated to each note. The rhythm is not affected. Notes identified as staccato should be played or sung abruptly and short. They are usually notated by a dot over the head of the note when the stem is downward, or by a dot below the head of the note when the stem is upward

Answer 5

The circle above a note is called a staccato. This notation means the note is to be played short and detached (detached being the literal Italian translation). Rhythm is not affected, but the passage will have more of a punchy or jumpy sound to it. The opposite of this term is legato, which is generally notated by the word being written or a curved line above or beneath the notes to be played.

Answer 6

If you mean a tiny dot, it's a staccato symbol.
Notes with a staccato symbol above them should be played short, choppy, and unconnected.

Answer 7

It's a sticcato, I think. It's a fast note, someone said 'choppy', I think that's the best description.


Hope that helps.

Answer 8

I forget the term, but it means the note is short and choppy.... marching music has this in it allot....

Answer 9

the ansa's above are all wrong - tis shorthand for less than 1 second......

Answer 10

i think it is a long note! goodluck