Tie and slur
A tie or slur is a curved line that joins notes. If it joins two notes of the same pitch it is a tie: both notes sound as a single, longer duration. If it joins notes of different pitch it is a slur and means flowing, connected playing.
- Tie
- same pitch, durations add up
- Slur
- different notes, played connected
- Also across
- the barline
- Related
- Syncopation, Legato
Two curves, two jobs
The page Rhythm describes the tie in its chapter on lengthening and joining: it joins two notes of the same pitch into a single, longer duration, also across the barline, where a note would otherwise not fit. The slur is described in the symbol library: a curved line over several notes that are played connected and flowing, without an audible break. For strings the notes under one slur are played in one bow stroke, for wind players only the first is tongued, and on the piano they flow into one another without silence.
| Tie | Slur | |
|---|---|---|
| Joins | two notes of the same pitch | notes of different pitch |
| Effect | a single, longer duration | flowing playing without an audible break |
| For strings | played as one note | in one bow stroke |
The tie and syncopation
The article Understanding and counting syncopation says that a syncopation gets onto paper in two ways. The first is the tie: a note on the “and” is tied across the next beat, so that no new attack falls on the beat itself. The second is dotting. Good editions follow the convention of tying note values so that the beats stay visible: instead of one long value running through, two tied ones are preferred if that makes the middle of the bar recognisable.
When reading this means: for tied notes you play or sing only the first and hold it for the length of both. You still count straight through.
Continue on Maikstrings
Related terms
LegatoLegato slurSyncopationDotted noteNote valueBarlineArticulation
Editor: Maik Krohm · reviewed on 3 October 2026
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