Which term is listed without a standard definition in the material?

• A. Simile
• B. Portato
• C. Slur
• D. Tie

Answer: (B)

The idea being tested is recognizing that some musical terms have widely agreed definitions in most materials, while one term is shown without a universal standard.

Simile is typically defined as continuing a figure in the same manner, so its meaning is straightforward. Slur is a curved line indicating legato across notes, a standard concept in phrasing. Tie connects notes of the same pitch to extend duration, another well-settled idea. Portato, however, is treated inconsistently across sources: it’s described as a semi-detached, still-legato articulation in some references (often linked to mezzo-staccato), but other materials describe it differently or don’t define it distinctly at all. Because of this variability, portato is the term listed without a single standard definition in the material.