Forum: music.stackexchange.com
Tags: <voice><glissando>
Title: What is the difference between portamento and glissando?
Question: What is the difference between portamento and glissando while singing?

Answers:
sents: text: Although the two terms are often conflated, and although there are plenty of situations where the difference isn't noticeable, the intended difference is that portamento is a relatively quick pitch slide between all or most of the notes during a melody or melody section.
text: The pitch slide tends to come only at the very end of the note, more or less during the articulation change into the next pitch.
text: A glissando is a far more deliberate slide that generally lasts for a significant part of the duration of the initial pitch on its way to the new pitch.
text: In short, portamento is a relatively subtle effect that tends to apply to the overall singing style while glissando tends to be a more dramatic pitch shifting that is usually only done between two notes where it is explicitly notated.
answer_details: author: music.stackexchange.com/users/9155/Pat Muchmore
score: 14
sents: text: Irrespective of singing, a glissando indicates that specific notes (whether specified or not) should be played or performed.
text: For example, if there is a perfect-fifth leap with a port.
text: indication, the performer should play/sing all of the chromatic notes in between unless otherwise indicated.
text: A portamento indicates that no specific pitches are necessary and may include semi or quarter tones as well.
text: A glissando is more gestural and is often larger than a portamento.
answer_details: author: music.stackexchange.com/users/3518/jjmusicnotes
score: 4
sents: text: Glissando is a discrete portamento whereas portamento is a continuous glissando.
answer_details: author: music.stackexchange.com/users/21014/Martyn
score: 4
sents: text: In singing, Portamento is a style, Glissando a technique.
text: Neither are likely to be heard as a distinct chromatic (or otherwise) scale.
text: On a harp, Glissando is a scale.
text: On trombone it's a continuous smear.
text: The terms mean different things in different contexts.
answer_details: author: music.stackexchange.com/users/17003/Laurence Payne
score: 1
sents: text: Glissando is going through intermediate pitches musically.
text: Portamento "carries" one pitch to another pitch: there is no interruption in tone and style and no "musical concept" of intermediate notes even though the execution might not be able to switch pitches instantly.
text: It's pretty much the same as a slur over a larger interval.
text: If you map this to a violin, it would a slur across two notes on the same string, played with the same finger but shifting position.
text: Monti's "Czárdás" starts with a violin passage all on one string, with large legato lines.
text: There is no word of "glissando" in the actual score if memory serves me right
text: : the instruction was only "sul G".
text: Various interpretations show a wide variety of executions for the large jumps, some are really exuberant glissandi, some are actually more like portamento.
text: The latter is quite trickier to pull off well and smoothly.
text: The basic difference is that there is no "musical time" spent on a portamento.
answer_details: author: music.stackexchange.com/users/19406/user19406
score: 1
sents: text: When using "Czardas" as an example for portamento identity, it's important to note that the interpretive portion of the piece is heavily rubato, disregarding time/tempo and leaving much to expression.
text: A clear definition of portamento (as I perform it, attacking a note and sliding to another with no discernable voicings in between,and almost immediately following a stroke) will add that much more to your expression.
answer_details: author: music.stackexchange.com/users/20212/Josh R
score: 1

Summary of the answers:
In singing, Portamento is a style, Glissando a technique. In short, portamento is a relatively subtle effect that tends to apply to the overall singing style while glissando tends to be a more dramatic pitch shifting that is usually only done between two notes where it is explicitly notated. Glissando is a discrete portamento whereas portamento is a continuous glissando.
The two terms will mean different things in different contexts. For example, in singing, portamento is considered a style whilst glissando is considered a technique. Furthermore, glissando is often considered more brief and gestural whereas portamento is longer. Glissand could also involved sounding discrete notes whereas portamento will be a continuous sound from one note to another.