In music, a stab is a single staccato note or chord that adds dramatic punctuation to a composition. Stabs may be provided by horns (real or synthesized)—a horn stab—or an orchestral sample—an orchestra hit—and usually occur on a 1-beat. Stabs are used in a wide variety of music genres including jazz, rock, classical, funk, freestyle, trap, EDM, metal and ska.
There is no standardized notation symbol to specifically indicate a stab. They are most commonly notated as a short note value with a staccato dot, sometimes with the verbal marking "stab".
Stabs are also used in electronic music in the form of very short snippets of a song used as rhythmic accents in a new composition. Early breakbeat hardcore, such as The Prodigy's "Fire", and hip hop in general made use of stabs.
See also Orchestra hit Punch (music) Sforzando, the equivalent in classical music
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