Glide Portamento And Glissando - For Beginners

Glide, Portamento, Glissando - Although similar, there is often some confusion about what they actually do and how they differ. This extends sometimes even to orchestral performers so here I look at these terms from the viewpoint of synthesizers and synthesists.
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[@mwmusic29]

Hi Ian! I watched this a few days ago but didn't get a chance to comment. Very informative and helpful! And my wife would be glad you mentioned the harp! :) Thanks for sharing. 👍

[@IanWaugh]

Ha! Ha! Thanks, Matt. The Harp - a glissando machine on steroids 😄

[@richardhermans4457]

Interesting, admittedly I never really knew too much about the difference.
Keep up the good work my friend. 🙂

[@IanWaugh]

Thank you Richard 😊 Some things you don't really need to know... 😊

[@meneerjansen00]

Thanks for the explanation. I needed that.
However, the polyponic synth 'JT-4000' from Behringer has separate Glissando and Portamento settings (see czcams.com/video/Ob8imgJLEdU/video.htmlsi=fkLixhRVz6DwkNSe&t=136). Wouldn't that be the same thing on a poly synth? Unfortunately I still don't get what the difference would be on that synth...
BTW What is Legato then? Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legato) says: "notes played [...] with the shortest silence, often barely perceptible, between notes". That sounds like the Glissando example you played on the piano t the end of your video (i. glide our fingers over the keys).

[@IanWaugh]

Hi - Thanks for your interesting question. The difference between portamento/glide and glissando is that portamento slides between notes like pitch bend whereas glissando hits the individual notes.
I don't have a JT-4000 or any poly with a gliss function so can't say how it would work polyphonically.
The port/glide on the Super 6 seems to glide between the individual notes in each chord but I struggle to tell for sure what it's actually doing. Gliss on a poly might work in a similar way. I wish more synths had a gliss function. Really great question.
Legato is a playing technique where you leave no gap between the consecutive notes so in that sense, yes, a gliss on a keyboard could be regarded as legato playing 😊
In synthesis the technique is most commonly used with sample libraries such as strings to trigger a smooth articulation between notes.
Hope this helps.

[@meneerjansen00]

@@IanWaugh Thanks. Watching the aforementioned Behringer JT-4000 (a synth "inspired" by the Roland JP-8000) it seems that on that poly synth the Glissando mode, like you said, enables you to hear the notes in between if you go from C to G. Its Portamento mode glides smoothly from one chord or note to another, like in your video.
Pffffff. Very confusing all that legato, glissando, portamento, glide, slide, pitch bend and there even appears to be "discrete glissando". 😉

[@IanWaugh]

@@meneerjansen00 That's synths for you 😊Manufacturers can implement these in different ways but the basics will stay the same.

[@paulc7798]

Hello Ian. I would love know how Paul Hardcastle does his whistle type lead sound in the song "Rain Forest". czcams.com/video/lFmcdf77wzU/video.html I can hear a portamento but have no clue how to reproduce it. A similar type sound is on the Freeez "Southern freeeze". czcams.com/video/6Dla9xLIkfQ/video.html Any guidance would be most appreciated. Thanks.

[@IanWaugh]

Hi Paul - Yes, that's a great sound. It doesn't sound like there's glide on every note and some FX seem faster than others. Depending on how it's set up, a glide can take the same amount of time to glide between 2 notes regardless of how far apart they are. Judicious legato play can produce similar results. However, I suspect there may also be some manual adjusting of the time while playing. This would allow the glide to be switched on and off and the performer could also manually adjusst the time. It probably sounds abit more complicated than it is but, as with all things, some practice will help 😊
Hope that's of use.

[@paulc7798]

Thanks for such a quick reply. Not so easy to replicate with a DAW so maybe that's why it is quite rare in modern music. Thanks again.@@IanWaugh

[@IanWaugh]

@@paulc7798 Ah 😊 Definitely a performance thing 😄