glisses

Glisses is a term that encompasses sliding motions across pitches or positions, most commonly referring to glissando and glissade techniques. The plural form is used across disciplines to describe rapid or continuous slides, whether in music, dance, or movement contexts such as skiing.

In music, a glissando is a glide from one pitch to another, which may be chromatic or diatonic and can cover a small or large interval. It is often performed rapidly for effect, but can be rendered slowly and expressively depending on style and instrument. Notation typically shows a straight line between the starting and ending notes with the indication glissando, or a wavy line in some modern scores. The term derives from French glisser, to slide, and Italian glissando, to slide.

Glissandi are produced differently across instruments. On keyboard instruments, players may slide a finger or hand across keys or use rapid finger substitutions. On string instruments, players glide a finger along the string while maintaining contact. On guitar, a player may use a sliding finger or a barre to create a continuous pitch sweep. For vocalists and some wind players, a portamento—a broader glide between pitches—often overlaps with glissando in practice.

Outside music, glissade is a related term in dance, referring to a gliding step. In skiing, glissade denotes a controlled slide down a slope with skis parallel, used for descent or traversal. The term’s meaning thus varies by discipline, but across contexts it retains the core idea of smooth, continuous movement between positions or pitches.