4

A bit strange question here: have you ever encountered a slur or tie marked as editorial with short stroke in the middle (like the one that can be found e.g. in Dorico)? The thing is, I try to convince my chief editor to follow this convention instead of using bracketed slurs, since I find the former one to be more legible and clear, but he's willing to concede only after I can prove it's a thing that is already in use. So, if anyone know where can I find such slurs/ties I would greatly appreciate some bibliographic reference or screenshots.

Many thanks in advance!

7
  • 2
    In my own experience, I've found dashed/dotted slurs to be more common than these slashed slurs.
    – Richard
    Jul 14, 2022 at 14:41
  • 2
    @Richard You're absolutely right, but since we use dashed slurs for something else, I wanted to find a "third way" for marking editorial interventions
    – Alex Kowal
    Jul 14, 2022 at 14:50
  • 1
    I've even seen editorial markings (admittedly in the Musescore.com self-published website), including slurs, in different colours instead of being slashed/dashed/dotted/bracketed.
    – Dekkadeci
    Jul 14, 2022 at 18:23
  • 1
    What do you use dashed slurs for?
    – JimM
    Jul 14, 2022 at 19:10
  • 1
    @Dekkadeci I guess it works only when printing in colour publishing online
    – Alex Kowal
    Jul 14, 2022 at 19:56

1 Answer 1

1

There's no image in the question and I don't have a copy of Dorico, but I'm guessing that the slurs look like the ones in this question: What does a line through a tie indicate?

I can't find much official information from publishers online outlining their standard editorial practice, but looking at the editions I have, at least one publisher does use this (or did recently; possibly they no longer do) - ABRSM. My copy of the Beethoven piano sonatas (Barry Cooper edition) says in the preface matter:

Editorial ties and slurs [...] are marked thus: (a picture of a slur with a small vertical line through the middle).

Other editorial additions [...] are shown by means of small type or square brackets

and indeed, there are many examples of such editorial slurs throughout. The example in the linked question doesn't have its publisher mentioned that I can see, but other aspects of the typesetting look ABRSM-y to me.

Most of the other publishers I've checked do something else - e.g. Henle and Edition Peters seem to put theirs in brackets; Bärenreiter seem to use dotted slurs (I assume they indicate phrasing slurs some other way).

(I think there are pros and cons to both options - bracketed slurs have the benefit of being consistent with other editorial markings, which are usually bracketed; however, the slurs-with-lines-through have the benefit of not taking up any extra horizontal space compared to a non-editorial slur.)

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge that you have read and understand our privacy policy and code of conduct.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.