Phrase slur

What it means

The phrase slur groups together a musical unit of meaning. It does not say primarily how the individual notes are to be connected but where an idea begins and where it ends — comparable to punctuation in language. A phrase has a beginning, a point of emphasis, and a conclusion, and the slur makes this organization visible.

In the notation

The sign is the same as for the legato slur: a slur above or below the noteheads. The two are distinguished not by shape but by length and context — a slur over two or three notes means binding, a slur over several bars means organization. In between lie cases meaning both at once. Both are to be clearly separated from the tie, which draws two identical pitches together: there the slur connects the same note, here different ones. In old sources, slur placement is inconsistent and often incomplete; editorial additions are marked in urtext editions, for instance by dashed slurs.

Musical use

The organization into phrases is what makes music intelligible. An eight-bar period consists of an antecedent and a consequent that relate like question and answer; within it, smaller units can be distinguished. Where slurs are absent, the performer must find the organization independently — from the harmony, from the repetition of motifs, from the course of the line. In vocal music the text largely dictates the division.

Bear in mind that phrase boundaries need not coincide with barlines. A phrase can begin on an upbeat and aim across the barline; whoever phrases by barlines cuts through the coherence.

Performance practice

Determine the phrases before practising and mark them, if the edition does not. Shape every phrase with a goal: one note carries the emphasis, the others lead toward it or fade from it. Take the ending back slightly, instead of cutting it off, and start anew afterward. And check, with long slurs, whether binding is also meant — for string and wind players this decides bow stroke and tonguing.