Slur (music)
An A natural minor scale under a slur
A slur is a symbol in
notes it embraces are to be played without separation (that is, with legato articulation). A slur is denoted with a curved line generally placed over the notes if the stems
point downward, and under them if the stems point upwards.
Prime functions of the slur in
Both accents and slurs relate directly to woodwind articulation...(and brass as well) [since they] employ a variety of tonguing effects [which are indicated by use of, "the correct form," of accents and slurs].[2]
[With
bow-strokes into a larger melodic idea), it should be notated above the passage with broken lines.[3]
The example below shows two measures in 6
8 with a slur for each measure:
Performance
Slurs mean different things for different instruments:
- For bowed string instruments, the notes should be played in one bow stroke.
- For plucked string instruments, such as guitars, the notes should be played without plucking the individual strings (hammer-ons and pull-offs).
- For slide trombone (and other instruments that control the pitch with a slide), on which only certain kinds of combinations can be played with no tongue without making a glissando – thus "legato tonguing" is employed.[citation needed]
- For vocal music, slurs are usually used to mark notes which are sung to a single syllable (melisma).
A slur can be extended over many notes, sometimes encompassing several bars. In extreme cases, composers are known to write slurs which are near-impossible to achieve; in that case the composer wishes to emphasise that the notes should be performed with as much legato as possible.
See also
- Tie (music), a similar symbol but for connecting lengths of notes together
- Musical phrasing
References
- ISBN 0-8008-5453-5.
- ^ Read (1969). "Woodwind Notation", p. 347.
- ^ Read (1969). "String Notation", p. 402
- ISBN 0-8256-0153-3.
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