Frase

What it means

Frase is the Italian word for phrase — a musical unit of sense that expresses a coherent thought, comparable to a clause in language. A phrase has a beginning, a course with a point of emphasis, and a conclusion that is usually marked by a cadence or a breath pause.

Musical use

Phrases form the middle level of musical articulation, between the small motif and the larger part of the form. In classical music they often comprise four bars; two phrases together yield a period, in which antecedent and consequent relate like question and answer. This regularity is, however, a model: phrases can be lengthened, shortened, or interlocked, so that the end of one is at the same time the beginning of the next.

Phrase boundaries do not necessarily coincide with bar lines. Many phrases begin with an upbeat and aim across the bar line at a strong note. Whoever articulates by bar lines cuts up this coherence.

In the score, phrasing is indicated by slurs, which, however, cannot always be distinguished unambiguously from legato slurs; in older music they are often missing altogether. In vocal music the text articulates the phrases.

In Italian performance instructions the word is met in phrases that demand an expressive, well-articulated way of playing.

In Italian playing instructions the word is met, for instance, in ben frasato, well phrased, or in notes on breathing and bowing. In content it corresponds to the German Phrase: a musical unit of sense that can be shaped with one breath or one bow stroke. How long a phrase is, notation fixes only in part; slurs indicate it but do not exhaust it. Much depends on harmony, cadences, and text.

Performance practice

Determine the phrases of a piece before practising and mark them. Shape each with a goal: one note carries the emphasis, the others lead toward it or die away. Breathe or set off at the phrase boundaries, not in the middle of a thought. And phrase across bar lines where the line demands it.