Know your SFX: The Glissando

The GLISSANDO (often abbreviated in a script to ‘Gliss’) is a musical effect involving the running of a finger rapidly over the keys of a piano, or the strings of a harp.

The term ‘glissando’ derives from the French glissez, ‘to slide’.

But in the world of classical music, Italian has long been the approved language, so the French word quickly mutated into the more respectable sounding (if not of dubious etymological based) ‘glissando’.

Often the Glissando is used in radio to represent a scene transition, the reveal of something that has been improved, or as a mechanism to explain a flashback or flash forward scene.

However, the Glissando has even been used in it’s extended form as a jingle in the 1940’s in the USA for CRESTA BLANCA for their sparkling wines including the sparkling burgundy and champagne.

The Glissando has been used in numerous cartoons and tv shows, including (at least to my memory) the Bevis & Butt-Head cartoon multiple times (twice in “Washing The Dog” and twice in it’s distorted form in the “Choke” episode, then three times in “Let’s Clean It Up”).

For a clean, full length and unedited link to the harp, xylophone and other versions of the sound effect, go HERE to FREESFX.co.uk, or search for “free sound effect Glissando” in your favourite search engine.
Note: You will have to register to download the file from this link – and I am, in no way affiliated with FreeSFX.co.uk and receive nothing in return for recommending them.

PLEASE NOTE: From next week, every TUESDAY will be a PROMOTIONS related post.