glissando

American  

[gli-sahn-doh] / glɪˈsɑn doʊ /

adjective

1. performed with a gliding effect by sliding one or more fingers rapidly over the keys of a piano or strings of a harp.

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noun

plural

glissandi

1. a glissando passage.

2. (in string playing) a slide.

glissando British  

/ ɡlɪˈsændəʊ /

noun

1. a rapidly executed series of notes on the harp or piano, each note of which is discretely audible

2. a portamento, esp as executed on the violin, viola, etc

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Etymology

Origin of glissando

1870–75; < French gliss ( er ) to slide + Italian -ando gerund ending

Compare meaning

How does glissando compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• portamento vs. glissando

Example Sentences

I told them, ‘Is there a way we can find space for rubato, pianissimo, glissando — all of that — so we can really play in the music?’

From Los Angeles Times

The new mix is stuffed like a Christmas turkey with harp glissandos and twinkly Christmas motifs.

From BBC

His left hand hovers over the strings along the neck, a cylindrical tube held between his thumb and middle finger drawing the metallic tones into a smooth glissando when it touches steel.

From Los Angeles Times

Still, neither Nézet-Séguin nor the Philadelphia Orchestra are quite fluent in jazz, even given the principal clarinetist Ricardo Morales’s luxuriously, rapturously gooey upward glissando in the famous wail that opens “Rhapsody.”

From New York Times

Trombone glissandos and trumpet blares were downright polite.

From New York Times