What is a slur?
See a curved line arching over a handful of notes? That's a slur, and it's one of the friendliest symbols in music. It simply says: play these notes smoothly, as one connected gesture. Here's exactly what it means and how to play it.
A slur is a curved line drawn over or under two or more notes of different pitches. It tells you to play them smoothly and connected, with no break or restart between them. Musicians call this style legato, an Italian word that means "tied together."
Learn symbols by playing
Notation sticks faster when you quiz yourself than when you read about it. Our free arcade turns reading the staff and its symbols into quick games — keep this open and jump in whenever.
What a slur looks like
A slur is just a smooth curve, like a shallow arc. It starts at the first note it covers and ends at the last one. Everything under (or over) that curve belongs to one connected phrase. The curve usually bends away from the note heads — arching over notes whose stems point down, and under notes whose stems point up — but the meaning is the same either way.
You'll often see slurs grouping a little melodic shape: three or four notes that rise and fall together. Think of the curve as a road sign that says "don't stop here — keep gliding."
What "play smoothly" actually means
How you produce a slur depends on your instrument, but the result is always the same: a seamless, connected line.
- Wind and brass players tongue (articulate) only the first note of the slur, then change the pitch with fingers, valves, or the slide while keeping the air flowing steadily. The notes change but the sound never restarts.
- String players play all the slurred notes in a single bow stroke instead of changing bow direction on each note.
- Singers sing the slurred notes on one syllable, gliding from pitch to pitch without re-attacking the word.
- Pianists connect the notes with smooth finger changes and overlap, so there's no gap of silence between them.
Slur vs. tie: the one thing people mix up
This is the most common point of confusion, and the rule is wonderfully simple. Both symbols are curved lines, but:
- A tie connects two notes of the same pitch and joins them into one longer sound. You play the note once and hold it.
- A slur connects notes of different pitches and tells you to play them all, just smoothly.
The quick test: look at the notes under the curve. Same pitch? It's a tie. Different pitches? It's a slur. That single question settles almost every case.
Clef Match
A fast card game: pair each note letter with its spot on the staff. The stronger your note reading, the easier every symbol — slurs, ties, and the rest — becomes.
Slurs, phrasing, and a note on bowing
Sometimes a long curve covers an entire musical sentence rather than a tight group of notes. That's a phrase mark, and it looks identical to a slur. It shows you where a musical idea begins and ends — like punctuation in a paragraph. For singers and many instruments it still means "connect smoothly," so you can treat it like a slur and add a gentle shape, growing toward the middle and easing off at the end.
Slurs are also a clue about articulation: notes inside a slur are connected, and the first note after a slur ends usually gets a fresh, clean start. Reading those groupings tells you where to breathe, where to re-tongue, and where to keep flowing.
A quick way to get comfortable with slurs
- Find the curve in a piece you're learning and mark where it starts and ends.
- Check same-or-different pitch to confirm it's a slur, not a tie.
- Play the first note with a clear start, then connect the rest without re-articulating.
- Sing the slurred group first if you can — your voice naturally connects pitches, and copying that on your instrument helps a lot.
The more fluently you read the notes under the slur, the easier it is to play the whole gesture in one smooth sweep. That fluency is exactly what a few minutes of daily note-naming builds.
Frequently asked questions
What does a slur mean in music?
A slur is a curved line over or under two or more notes of different pitches. It tells you to play those notes smoothly and connected, with no separation — what musicians call legato.
What's the difference between a slur and a tie?
A tie connects two notes of the same pitch and joins them into one longer sound. A slur connects notes of different pitches and tells you to play them smoothly. Same pitch means tie; different pitches means slur.
How do you play a slur?
Wind players tongue only the first note and change pitch with fingers or slide while keeping the air going. String players use one bow stroke. Singers use one syllable. The goal is a smooth, connected sound.
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