attacca

musical technique

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Last updated

July 20, 2026

Quick Summary

Attacca is an Italian musical term used as a direction at the end of a movement. It instructs the musicians to begin the next movement immediately, without any pause. The word itself is an imperative verb meaning "attack at once".1

The term is distinct from attacco, which refers to a musical motive or short phrase that is presented in contrapuntal imitation. An attacco can be introduced within a composition as a development or as a feature of a fugue exposition.2

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Horn Concerto No. 1 in E-flat Major
…a musical technique known as attacca. Although concerti typically began with the orchestra stating the main themes and the soloist entering later on, Strauss took the opposite approach: after a single strong chord for the orchestra, the soloist begins a heroic theme based on rising and falling arpeggios. The movement…
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…a musical technique known as attacca. Although concerti typically began with the orchestra stating the main themes and the soloist entering later on, Strauss took the opposite approach: after a single strong chord for the orchestra, the soloist begins a heroic theme based on rising and falling arpeggios. The movement…
Read More