In sheet music, composers use a slur to put together consecutive notes. There seem to be two kinds of slurs: one with a solid line and the other broken. My question is: when does a composer use a solid line slur, when do they use a broken line slur?
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5 Answers
Composers may use a dashed/dotted/broken slur or phrase mark when it's optional (for example, when lyrics are irregular, as user25358 attests). It may also be used to indicate a hemiola, for example where a 3/4 bar should be treated as 6/8. That could be the case in bars 2-3 of your excerpt.
Editors may use a dashed/dotted/broken slur to indicate editorial material which has been added because the composer did not include such a phrase mark.
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1Composers rarely use dashed slurs to express their intent (they're a pain to write and make you look indecisive). If you find a dashed slur in a printed score, it's almost always either an alternate-lyrics caution or a caution to signify "added by the editor" (editor's additions are usually set in italics, but slurs can't be italicized, so you dash them instead). Dec 22, 2015 at 7:57
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What I understand is that it is used after the fact. I have the notation program Finale in the special tools menu there's the option of a broken slur, that means that it is used by editors to second guessing the composer. Or to put syllables together that are only in certain song lines.– NachmenDec 22, 2015 at 8:22
Beyond that, even a solid slur curve does not always indicate notes should be slurred. The same notation is often used to indicate phrasing, in which case there will be shorter curves over a subset of the notes indicating a true slur. -- Or if all notes are to be articulated, there'll be dots or bars over the notes to specify the articulation.
I have to say that in most cases (cello music) where I see a dotted slur, it means that some editor suggests the original composer might have liked a slur there even tho' the manuscript doesn't have one.
answered Dec 21, 2015 at 14:48
Slurs with broken lines are usually employed when there are two notes to a syllable only in some of several stanzas of singing.
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I've seen dashed slurs used in wind sheet music to indicate that the player should play through the phrase instead of taking a breath.
I have seen (and use) them in my music to signify a legato or soft tongued phrase. Although this is only used by some composers/arrangers for big band/jazz orchestrations (a field where dots, dashes, accents and various other ornaments have different applications over the decades.) Gotta luv those crazy jazz guys! NO RULES!!
