Thus the Guarneri's rehearsals were marked by vigorous give-and-take, with disagreements frequent and forcefully expressed. No point was too small for debate: in musical notation, a dot over a note means that it should be played staccato, and Steinhardt describes one public rehearsal in which the group argued for 20 minutes over precisely how much shortening one particular staccato-marked note ought to have. In general majority opinions prevailed, but a minority voice was listened to, and occasionally when one member had extremely strong feelings on a matter, he was allowed veto power. When the group's decision process hit a deadlock, they would sometimes play the passage one way for a Monday concert and a different way on Tuesday. The players came to accept and expect the constant flow of criticism without resentment, and the rehearsals were also laced with friendly banter and corny jokes. But praise was almost never expressed; Steinhardt describes the Guarneri as a "compliment-free zone," noting that this reduced competitiveness and eliminated any pressure to offer congratulations in return.