You may find the accompanying video helpful. My wife Florence Estrin demonstrates how to play a slur on the flute as it’s much more complicated to demonstrate on the piano. If you are only able to read the text, I will give you good information about what a slur is.
Slurs are curved lines connecting 2 or more notes:
Note: A curved line that connects 2 notes that are the same is not a slur but a tie which makes the 2 notes into one long note.
Slurs indicate to a wind player when to use the tongue to delineate the beginning of notes and when to connect the notes on the breath. To put this simply, the tonguing will be on the first note and everything else that follows will be on the breath. Florence provides a great example of this in the video above. She also provides some examples of what it sounds like to play the musical line without slurs – tonguing the beginning of each note as well as providing examples of different phrasing.
When it comes to the piano, the difference between a slur and a non-slurred note is much harder to determine. A true slur as in singing is actually a quick glide between notes. Since this isn’t possible on the piano, overlapping notes slightly is the closest approximation of a slur possible. This is technically not a slur but it’s impossible to play a true slur on the piano; like many things when it comes to this instrument, it’s an illusion. If a phrase is not slurred, you can delineate notes by putting a slight space between each of the notes.
There are many different types of phrasing and shadings within slurs and non-slurs we can explore in future videos. I hope this information is useful to you. If you have any more questions please contact me:
Robert Estrin Robert@LivingPianos.com (949) 244-3729
4 thoughts on “What is a Musical Slur? Music Lessons with Robert Estrin”
Robert,
I always enjoy your emails with piano instructions.
Could you please give me the name of the person who restors your pianos? I have an 1895 Chickering model 109C and a 1895 Collard & Collard parlor grand I would like to get fully restored.
Thank you so much,
Doyle Fowler
drtexas@yahoo.com
Be careful not to confuse a “slur” with a “slide” or “portamento”. The slur is a connectedness of feeling and sound but decidedly does NOT contain all the notes between the two, which is a slide. Singers who cannot manage a slurred “jump” without sliding from one note to the other are very annoying to listen to and are considered poor, except in certain forms of popular music and when specifically indicated in classical music. Generally, it is used very sparingly in proper singing. But properly executed slurs are the heart of phrasing.
So, Robert, would you say that on the piano you’re using legato where slurs are written? Or is there a distinction?
— J.S.
Again, Robert, spot on! When I look at my old scores I still see the markings of my teacher above the slurs: “Join and lift on last note.”
This is a massive area for discussion; and awareness of this technique often means whether or not a piece is play according to the intentions of the composer.
Please tell us more about this!