Charles Bukowski

When I worked on a magazine, I learned that there are many, many writers writing that can't write at all; and they keep on writing all the cliches and bromides and 1890 plots, and poems about Spring and poems about Love, and poems they think are modern because they are done in slang or staccato style, or written with all the 'i's' small.

American Author

Paul Morrissey

Andy wasn't capable of any complicated thoughts or ideas. Ideas need a verb and a noun, a subject. Andy spoke in a kind of stumbling staccato. You had to finish sentences for him. So Andy operated through people who could do things for him. He wished things into happening, things he himself couldn't do.

American Director

John Prine

If you listen to people talk, when people actually talk, they talk in melodies. If they get angry, their voice rises, and it's more of a staccato thing. When they ask for something, they're real sweet. It's all music.

American Singer

Ben van Berkel

That's what I love about Chicago... It is the staccato aspect of the skyscrapers. But the ground is very loose, very relaxed. It makes Chicago far more pleasant than other cities.

Dutch Architect

Holly Hunter

The rhythm of my career has always been very static, staccato and then silent, and then a lot of work, and then none.

American Actress

Victoria Arlen

The traditional tango is really staccato, but with the Argentine tango, you have to be really sexy and saucy.

American Journalist

Dick Dale

I thought of Gene Krupa's drumming, his staccato drumming. I went and put 'Misirlou' to that rhythm.

American Musician

Staccato creates tension or excitement in music, not smooth or calm feelings.

Emotion in Music

Imagine staccato notes as dots jumping on the page; they're brief and energized.

Visualizing Notes

Staccato is the opposite of legato, where notes connect smoothly.

Not Legato

Playing staccato requires precise timing to keep notes crisp and separate.

Musical Precision

Use staccato to inject variety and expression in musical pieces.

Expression Change

A staccato style is recognizable by its distinct sharp sounds.

Distinct Auditory

Staccato isn't used when a song or piece requires flowing sound.

Not For Flow

Staccato speech often suggests urgency or impatience.

Conveys Urgency

Staccato speech is sometimes just brisk efficiency, not rudeness.

Not Always Rude

Use staccato sentences to make writing impactful and dynamic.

Impact in Writing

 of an exploded missile, so bright that nothing can protect your eyes from it. I grew up with the sounds of war -- the staccato sounds of gunfire,