Slur
A curved line connecting two or more notes of different pitch to indicate they should be played smoothly and connected.
Category
notation
Pronunciation
/slɜː/
Origin
Origin uncertain (possibly German, schleifen)
Length
188 words · 1 min read
About Slur
A slur tells the performer to connect the enclosed notes as smoothly as possible — on strings, this means playing them in a single bow stroke; on wind instruments, without re-tonguing; and on piano, with a legato finger technique. Slurs should not be confused with ties, which connect notes of the same pitch to combine their durations.
More notation terms
Clef
View all notationterms →A symbol placed at the beginning of a staff to indicate the pitch of the notes.
Repeat SignA pair of dots and double barlines that instruct the performer to replay a section of music.
OpusA numbering system for a composer's works, assigned roughly in order of publication
FermataA held note or rest; pause at the performer's discretion.
RestA notated period of silence of a specified duration.
Compare with similar terms
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