Reading sheet music - question

[ggpianogg]

Hi again!

Another question, I hope I'm not being too annoying with these!

I'm having a bit of trouble distinguishing between a few types of markings on sheet music. Specifically:



As I understand it, the "slur" above means that the pitches should be played continously and without any "pauses" between them.




In the image above, as I understand it the dots above the notes mean that the pitches should be played with a very short "pause" between them, so you play the first two notes, then lift your fingers for a micro second and play the other two pitches.

Now, if I got the two above correctly...




Then what does a typical notation like this refer to? How should it be played?

[gyzzzmo]

a 'slur' also means that that part should be played as a whole, doesnt mean that without a 'slur' you should play it with pauses. So that third notation, just play it as it says.

[ggpianogg]

a 'slur' also means that that part should be played as a whole, doesnt mean that without a 'slur' you should play it with pauses. So that third notation, just play it as it says.

Hi Gyzzzmo, thanks for the feedback.

Could you explain a bit further what you mean by "played as a whole"? I'm still not sure I understand the difference between the 1st and 3rd option. Thanks in advance.

[vviola]

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[learntopianoonline]

I cann't see the images, your gays can see it?

[ggpianogg]

I cann't see the images, your gays can see it?

Yes, I believe my gays can see it.. Yeah the images display properly, try opening the page in a different browser, it may help.

"Played as a whole" as in; the notes should be mixed together, creating a "slurred" sound. If you play the notes in image 1 legato, without pedal, you should get the right effect. Try this: Hold the first note down and play the second note, without releasing the first. When you reach the third note, lift your fingers from the first two notes, and the play the third note through the fourth note. All of this without pedal.

Of course later you will encounter much longer slurs, which require the use of the pedal. For example, below, in this bar from a Mozart sonata, the slur is written across every note in the bass clef; so it becomes easier to apply some pedal, rather than connecting each note as I explained above.



The notes in image 3 are just quavers. They are meant to be played as two separate notes. Not staccato, and without slurring them.

Thanks a lot, I think I understand now (although not regarding the pedal, since I have no grasp of what pedals do at all, yet, but I believe I understood the concept).

[leonbloy]

As the wikipedia (correctly here) says:

The slur is not to be confused with two other similar musical symbols. The tie is a curved line that links two notes of the same pitch to show that their durations are to be added together. The ligature or phrase mark is a curved line that extends over a passage which is visually indistinguishable from the slur, and indicates that the passage is to be interpreted as a single phrase.

The ligature or phrase mark (or "expression ligature", IIRC) usually extends over many notes, and is just a musical cue for the player, to emphasize that those notes form a "phrase" (something akin to a verse in a song). It is not a slur, it does not imply (necessarirly) legato playing.