SLURS AND PHRASE MARKS - THE SCORE - Music Notation Preparing Scores and Parts

THE SCORE

SLURS AND PHRASE MARKS

Slurs or phrase marks mean different things for different instruments. For most instruments it indicates how the music is phrased. For stringed instruments, it shows how the music is bowed. Slurs are used in a very specific way in vocal music, as discussed later in this chapter. You must clearly understand how you are using this symbol in your music in order to use it correctly.

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B

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bbb

bbb 4 4

4 4

Viola

Cello Flutes

Violins

Œ ‰ J œ œ œ œ œ

Œ ‰ J œ œ œ

œ œ Œ ‰ J œ≥ œ œ œ œ

Œ ‰ j

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≥

œ œ œ œ Œ ‰ J œ ≥

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rit.

w

w ≤

w

≤

w ≤ w ≤

U w

w

U

w

U

U w

Fig. 3.3.07 Slur, bowing, and phrase markings

For passages with all notes of a single stem direction, slurs are placed on the notehead side of the notes. For a passage with mixed-stem direction, the slur goes above the notes.

Software programs often draw slurs oddly, requiring manual adjustment to make them look “right.” Additionally, the default line thickness of the slur often needs to be adjusted so the slur can be visually differentiated from staff lines and other score marks. Be sure to carefully examine the slurs in your score.

~~~~~~~~~~^Glissando

~~~~~~~~~~Glissando

bbb

~~~~~~~~~~~Glissando

Fig. 3.3.08 Slurs and stem direction

ACCIDENTALS

Whether you are notating by hand or using a computer, accidentals need to be handled carefully. First, you need to decide whether the note will appear as a sharp or as a flat. When there is a non-diatonic note in a line, the general convention is to spell the note based on its melodic direction: notes that are part of an ascending line are written with sharps, while descending lines use flats. There is an obvious visual logic that makes the line easier to read, as in the examples below.

Yes

Carefully proofread your score to make sure you have spelled the non-diatonic pitches in each individual part as carefully as possible.

Courtesy accidentals, placed in parentheses, are used whenever there might be some question about the identity of a note that had been previously written with an accidental. This is especially important when considering a sequence of notes that crosses a barline. The example below is technically correct—because the accidental usually does not carry through across the barline—but is potentially confusing to the player. A courtesy accidental eliminates any uncertainty the player might have about the correct pitch.

Yes

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j œ

b œ . j

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# ˙

& 4 4 œ b œ

œ # œ n œ . J œ

# N œ . J œ b n ˙

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b œ . j

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# ˙

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œ

# œ

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b œ b œ .

j œ

b N œ . j œ

# ˙

Fig. 3.3.10b The courtesy accidental used to avoid confusion Fig. 3.3.10a The “G”

on the downbeat of measure 2 should have a courtesy accidental Fig. 3.3.09b Accidentals used to indicate the direction of the line;

sharps ascend and flats descend

Fig. 3.3.09a Accidentals used incorrectly; they don’t indicate the directions of the line

Accidentals should never collide with one another. Most software programs automatically place the accidentals to avoid collisions, but if the music is too compressed—especially if there are too many measures on a line—the accidentals can collide with each other or with surrounding notes.

Yes

There are several common instances in which two or more instrumental parts are written in the same staff. These are called divisi parts. In orchestral scores, pairs of winds or brass are often written in the same staff. The example below shows a typical example of paired winds in an orchestral score.

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2 Flutes

2 Oboes

2 Clarinets in Bb

2 Bassoons

œ œ 4. Divisi Parts

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measure is correctly spaced so that the accidentals do not collide

Fig. 3.3.11a The measure is too narrow and as a result the accidentals collide with one another

Fig. 3.4.01 Paired woodwinds in an orchestral score

If the parts are rhythmically identical or very similar, they can share noteheads and beams. In passages where the two instruments play in unison, the indication

“Unison” or “a2” is used (meaning “by two players”). The example below shows this type of notation. An isolated unison within the divisi can share one notehead with separate stems.

If the divisi parts are rhythmically distinct, the parts must be written as separate entities sharing the staff. Because that type of notation can become quite complex, take a great deal of care to ensure the separate parts are readable. Decide whether or not the music warrants a separate staff for each part. If the parts are quite different throughout much of the music, separate staves might be the best choice.

If the music requires only short passages of two-part music, then one single stave usually is enough.

Each part must be rhythmically complete, including all necessary rests so that the measure contains the appropriate number of beats. To separate the two parts visually, the higher part is written with all stems up and the lower part with all stems down, as shown below. If there is any question about who plays which part, you can indicate the player with a written direction.

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J œ

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n œ œ

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j œ .

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. œ œ œ .

Fig. 3.4.02 Unisons in divisi parts

Fig. 3.4.03 Stems direction in divisi parts

When the parts cross, the stem directions are maintained for each part.

In the case of notation for strings and voices, when a section of players—rather than just two in the case of paired winds and brass described above—is reading from a single stave, the terms “unis.” (for “unison”) and “div.” (for “divisi”) are used to indicate who plays which part. This is especially important in string music, where the difference between double stops and divisi needs to be clearly indicated.

When the parts are close together, particularly when they are a second apart, the notation must be handled carefully. Notation software does not usually follow the appropriate practices to keep elements from clashing with one another, so it is often necessary to adjust notes and accidentals manually. The placement of accidentals follows the placement of the noteheads.

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4 Ó

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J

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Fig. 3.4.04 Stem directions when divisi parts cross

Fig. 3.4.05 Divisi parts in vocal and string music

Violin 1

For major and minor seconds, the common practice is this:

• For notes sharing a stem, the lowest note goes on the left, no matter what the direction of the stem.

• For notes with separate stems, the lowest note goes on the right.

Some examples are shown below:

Notation for the drum set in pop and jazz music, commonly shown as two-part music, is discussed later in this chapter.

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œ œ œ

b œ

œ # œ

œ œ œ œ

œ œ

#

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b œ œ

Fig. 3.4.06 Noteheads and accidentals for two-part music

The placement of words and directions in the score requires some care. While the placement of some types of directions in the score follows fairly strict guidelines, there are many situations in which the writer needs to determine the best place for the various visual elements.

In document Music Notation Preparing Scores and Parts (Page 71-78)