portamento

Portamento is a smooth, continuous glide from one pitch to another, different from glissando in that it does not articulate the individual notes in between. On string instruments and the voice, a true portamento slides seamlessly through all frequencies between the two pitches. Portamento was a prized expressive device in Romantic-era singing and string playing. Early 20th-century recordings reveal how extensively performers used it. Modern taste generally favours a cleaner, more restrained approach, though portamento remains an important expressive tool in the right context. In electronic music, portamento (often called glide) is a standard synthesizer parameter.