Dynamics, articulation and form
Accent
An accent is a sign telling you to play one note louder than the notes around it. It is written as a small wedge (>) at the notehead.
An accent is not forte. Forte holds for every note until the next dynamic sign, while an accent applies to one note only: that note stands out, and the others stay at the written level. An accent can appear in a soft passage as well as a loud one.
The accented note is struck more decisively and with a little more weight — not banged, but stressed, like the stressed syllable in a word. Its length does not change.
The accent is an articulation, like legato or staccato. Do not confuse it with the strong beat of the metre: the strong beat is stressed naturally, in every measure, while an accent sign marks a note that stands out in addition — often precisely on a weak beat.
What it sounds like
An accent sounds like a stressed word in a sentence: one note jumps out of the line while the others walk on calmly.
Where it is taught: the studio’s interactive textbook, chapter 17, “Dynamics and articulation”.