Phrasing slur
The phrasing arc is a graphic element of music notation that marks the beginning and end of a larger musical unit of meaning, a phrase .
history
Since the end of the 18th century , composers have been using notes on phrasing to identify musical phrases - previously, the interpreter had to have a feeling for the phrases : especially performance symbols such as breath marks , fermatas , slurs , staccato dots or pauses . In the 1880s, Hugo Riemann developed the phrasing slur in his phrasing theory , which can be used to identify which notes belong to a formal context (analogous to a grammatical sentence ) and where so-called dead intervals are located. During the lecture, the musical section can then e.g. B. can be expressed ("phrased") through articulation , increasing and decreasing volume or agogic .
notation
Riemann initially used square brackets for the theoretical demonstration. Soon, however, a bow was also used in the publication of works, which has a different meaning than the articulation and ties, but looks the same graphically. Therefore, the phrasing slur can easily be confused with the holding or connective / legato slur. The mix-up with the slur is particularly likely when it runs over the entire phrase.
To solve this problem, dashed arcs instead of normal solid arcs are used in some scores. However, this practice has not become established. In most cases, slurs, slurs / slurs / legato and phrasing should ultimately be easy to distinguish from the context. (For example, it is easy to distinguish a phrasing slur from a legato slur in string instruments, as the former is usually much longer and the phrase in question could hardly be played in a slur.)
The following example shows the three types of slurs: The ties (1) are used to link note values, the ties / legato slurs (2) serve as instructions for playing. The phrasing sheet (3) marks the musical phrase, which in turn contains playing instructions such as legato and tenuto .
literature
- Hugo Riemann : Musical dynamics and agogic. Textbook of musical phrasing based on a revision of the doctrine of musical metrics and rhythm. Rahter et al., Hamburg et al. 1884, ( digitized ).