What is legato for a pianist? We all know that legato passages are marked with slurs. And hopefully we all know that legato actually means “smooth;” not quiet, as is a somewhat common mistake among students.
I remember as a young violinist that slurs made perfect sense: simply combine all of the notes under the slur in a single bow. Of course, as I matured musically, the world of slurs and legato playing broadened and I learned that there is much more to a beautiful legato than just combining notes in a bow. However, my point is this: beginning string players have a very simple, but correct way to mechanically play legato. At the same time that I easily comprehended the straightforward explanation of slurs in my violin studies, I was downright confused about them in piano. I did understand that slurs were different from dots (staccato; short), but that was about it.