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Understand Music Theory: Phrasing and articulation

by Margaret Richer

Just as written words have punctuation marks like commas to help structure a section, music also uses a type of punctuation. A phrase is similar to a line of writing and is several bars long. In simple music such as a folk song, the phrases are usually two or fours bars in length. There is, however, no set rule about how long a phrase should last. Phrases are notated by a long, curved line starting from the first note and ending at the last note of the phrase.

Articulation refers to the way an individual note or group of notes should be performed. There are various marks to show articulation, some only being used for specific instruments. Directions for use of the sustaining pedal on the piano is an example. Other signs have a more general use. A dot placed over or under the head of a note indicates it should be played staccato, as short as possible. The slur marking is a curved line written above or below the heads of a group of notes, showing these pitches should be played smoothly. Slurs are found in vocal music, but are also used for bowing instructions of stringed instruments. The curved line is similar to that of the phrase, but is usually applied to a much smaller group of notes.

There are sometimes difficulties in knowing exactly how a piece of music is to be interpreted. Often the composers were careless in their original notation. Performance practices have also changed throughout the years. These problems need to be considered when deciding on the exact phrasing and articulation suitable for a particular performance.

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