Expression & tempo
Tenuto
Tenuto is a short horizontal dash over a note asking for it to be held to its full value, and often given a little extra weight or emphasis.
The marking carries two overlapping meanings that context separates: hold the note for all of its length, and lean on it slightly. In a passage of detached notes a tenuto dash means sustain; in a passage of even notes it means stress.
On a string instrument both are made with the bow. Full length means keeping the stroke moving to the end of the value rather than stopping early; weight means a fractionally slower, heavier start. Neither involves shortening, which is what separates tenuto from every staccato marking.
Dashes under a slur become portato, a different instruction: several weighted notes inside one bow.
Related terms
Every term in this glossary is taught in context somewhere in Arco's curricula, on the staff, on the keyboard, and on your own fingerboard at the same time.