Sempre
"Always" — sempre legato means legato throughout
Related
Sempre ("always") is a modifier: sempre legato means "legato throughout", sempre forte "loud throughout". It extends a requirement across a whole passage rather than applying it to one note.
It differs from writing the mark on every note: sempre is a summary instruction to continue, so the score need not repeat it. The usual mistake is to read sempre as a crescendo — it does not mark change but persistence; when you see sempre, ask which state is to be kept.
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Sources
- sempre 作为持续修饰语的用法，参 The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, "Tempo and tempo marks"；本文为原创表述
Used for fact-checking only; all prose is original.