acciaccatura
/əˌt͡ʃɑkəˈtʊɹə/
acciaccatura means A short grace note (theoretically taking no time at all), occurring on the beat occupied by the main note to which it is prefixed, one scale-step higher or lower than that main note. (Sometimes equivalent, therefore, to a short appoggiatura, but in Baroque music interpreted differently and more strictly.) Written as a note lighter in appearance, typically a quaver (eighth note), with an oblique stroke through the stem. Lexicurio rates it Sui generis — a strength score of 86 out of 100.
acciaccatura is pronounced /əˌt͡ʃɑkəˈtʊɹə/.
Why “acciaccatura” is a great word
A very short, dissonant grace note played as a sharp, instantaneous crush immediately before its principal note, stealing no time from the melody’s pulse. From the Italian *acciaccatura*, from the verb *acciaccare* (“to crush, bruise”). Unlike an *appoggiatura*, which leans into the beat with expressive weight, or a *mordent*, which flickers around a central pitch, the acciaccatura is a single, brutal compression of sound—the sharp intake of breath before a cry, the crunch of gravel under a hurried step, the split-second fracture of light before the stable beam. It is the audible proof that beauty often lives in the bruise.
Etymology
Borrowed from Italian acciaccatura, from the verb acciaccare (“to crush”).
noun
- A short grace note (theoretically taking no time at all), occurring on the beat occupied by the main note to which it is prefixed, one scale-step higher or lower than that main note. (Sometimes equivalent, therefore, to a short appoggiatura, but in Baroque music interpreted differently and more strictly.) Written as a note lighter in appearance, typically a quaver (eighth note), with an oblique stroke through the stem.