Phrase slur
A phrase slur is a long slur over a whole musical phrase. It looks like a legato slur but primarily shows what belongs together, and does not necessarily ask for all notes to be joined.
- Embraces
- a phrase, often several bars
- Asks for legato?
- not necessarily
- Looks like
- legato slur
- Meaning
- often emerges from the context
What a phrase slur shows
A phrase is a group of notes that belong together, comparable to a sentence in language. A phrase slur makes it visible in the score: it spans all notes of the phrase, often across several bars. Unlike the legato slur it does not primarily say how the single notes are to be joined, but where a musical thought begins and ends.
Phrase slur over two bars, short legato slurs underneath
The large slur gathers both bars into one phrase. The small slurs underneath each join four eighth notes; there the notes sound without a gap.
The same phrase, but the eighth notes detached
The slur again embraces both bars, but staccato dots sit under it. The notes are therefore played detached, namely lightly separated as in portato: a phrase slur does not force you to join the notes.
Phrase slur and legato slur
Both slurs look the same, and there is no fixed feature in the score that separates them reliably. Hints come from the length (long slurs across several bars are often phrase slurs), from the signs under the slur (staccato dots speak against continuous legato) and from the context. Often both kinds of slur lie inside one another, as in the first example: the large slur structures the phrase, the small ones join. If the small slur is missing, it is left to the player how closely the notes are joined.
Breathing and lifting
At the end of the slur the phrase ends. There a breath or a slight lifting suggests itself, with strings often a new bow stroke. The slur shows where the phrase belongs together, so that you do not cut it up in the middle.
Common mistakes
- Playing every long slur as legato: Under a phrase slur detached notes are also possible.
- Lifting in the middle of the phrase: The natural place to breathe is the end of the phrase.
- Guessing the meaning of the slur: Length, signs under it and context give hints.
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Related terms
Legato slurTieLegatoGebundenPhrasingArticulationMelody
Editor: Maik Krohm · reviewed on 3 October 2026
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