## Slur

A slur is a curved line over a group of notes at different pitches, meaning play them smoothly and connected as one phrase.

It looks like a tie but does a different job: a tie joins two of the *same* pitch into one longer note, a slur joins *different* pitches into one phrase. The last note under a slur is usually shortened slightly, which is how phrasing gets its shape.


## How To Spot Slur

A curve spanning several notes at different heights on the staff.


## Find It In Thirty Seconds

Find a slur and play the group in one breath — imagine singing it. Then play the same notes detached and hear how much the curve was doing.

Open any piece of sheet music on this site and do it now. Reading is a recognition skill, and recognition is built by finding things, not by reading about them.