Ties vs. slurs: how to tell them apart
Ties and slurs are both curved lines that connect notes, and in a band book they can look almost the same. But they ask for very different things. One changes a rhythm; the other changes how you play a group of notes. Here's how to tell them apart at a glance.
Two curved lines
The quick rule: look at the notes, not the line. If the curve connects two notes on the same line or space, it's a tie. If it connects notes on different lines or spaces, it's a slur.
Ties: same note, held longer
A tie joins two notes of the same pitch into one longer note. You play the first note and hold it through the value of the second without tonguing again or re-striking it. Ties are about rhythm: they let a note last longer than one note value can show, or hold across a bar line. A tie also carries a sharp or flat across the bar line; see how long a sharp or flat lasts.
Ties also show up in the middle of a measure to make the beat easier to see. A quarter tied to an eighth sounds exactly like a dotted quarter (see how to count dotted quarter notes).
Slurs: different notes, no tonguing
A slur connects two or more notes of different pitches. It doesn't change any rhythm. It tells you to play the notes smoothly, in one breath, without separating them.
- Woodwinds and brass: tongue only the first note under the slur, then keep the air moving while your fingers (or slide) change notes.
- Trombone: a slurred passage needs a soft "legato" tongue on many notes so the slide doesn't smear between them. Your director will show you how.
- Mallet percussion: you can't truly slur, so play smoothly and connected, and let the bars ring.
Telling them apart quickly
| Tie | Slur | |
|---|---|---|
| Connects | Two notes, same pitch | Two or more notes, different pitches |
| Changes | How long the note lasts | How the notes are played |
| Tongue the second note? | No, just hold | No, change fingers only |
| Count it? | Yes, add the values together | Count normally |
| Often seen | Across bar lines, inside syncopation | Over scales and melodies |
A tie is usually short, connecting just two notes. A slur often stretches over a whole group. If the curve covers three or more notes, it's almost certainly a slur.
When you see both
A slur can contain a tie. For example, a slur might connect an E tied to another E, followed by D and C. Hold the tied E for both values, then slur down to D and C without tonguing. Read the tie first (it tells you the rhythm), then the slur (it tells you the articulation).
If you can't tell which one you're looking at, check whether the two notes sit on the same line or space. If they do, and the curve connects only those two, play it as a tie.
Practice
- Go through one page of your band music with a pencil and mark every tie with a "T." Everything else curved is a slur.
- Clap each tied rhythm while counting out loud. Say the counts you hold through, but don't clap them.
- Play a scale slurred in groups of two, then four, keeping the air steady between notes.
Build tied rhythms in Rhythm Builder to see how a tie moves the next note off the beat, then hear them in Rhythm Trainer.