3c

NORMAN LUDWIN

A phrase is a musical sentence, a division of the musical ideas.

It enables the composer to show their intentions to the performer,
to let them know when one idea begins and another ends.

In music, we use the curved line marking to show that all notes
under the slur are in one phrase.

In speech, we use space and punctuation to show syntax.

Without these tools of syntax, our written or spoken language

wouldappearlikethiswhichisnoteasytounderstandisit?
Speech without proper syntax, is like music without phrasing,
sounding like gibberish, both robotic and boring.

This is
Beethovens
31st Piano
Sonata. Note
the eight
measures
under the slur,
showing the
phrase that
Beethoven
was
indicating, as
opposed to
shorter three
or smaller
measure
phrases.

When we write music

for strings, we must use
the same curved line
marking, but now the
marking serves as a
SLUR indicator.
This means that all
notes under the slur,
are not just part of a
phrase, but must be
played without
stopping the bow.
The notes are all
slurred together, until
the player moves their
bow in the opposite
direction.

During J. S. Bachs time

(1685-1750), composers wrote
music with very little markings,
sometimes not even slurs. This was
because during this period there
was a widely understood
tradition and many musical
gestures were implied, and not
actually notated.
Though this music has very little
original markings if you listen to
a recording of a cellist playing it
you will here many added
dynamics, tempo changes, and
slurs.
In the late 18th century,
composers began to add more of
their own markings to their music,
as the traditions of the past
became less and less universally
understood; composers also
increasingly wanted more control
of their music as opposed to
allowing the players to freely
interpret their music.

This is the Max Bruch 1st

Concerto for Violin
written in 1870. Note the
many markings including
crescendos, ornaments,
multiple stops, and tempo
changes.

Most of the great

composers were very
careful in how they
marked their string
parts, always aware
that players dont have
circular bows and must
go both up and down
with their bows.
This is Beethovens
Second Symphony, and
though he doesnt mark
the actual up and down
markings, his parts are
very clear for the string
player to understand.

"Growing Orbits"

65

&

Here is the 1st violin

part to my work
Growing Orbits.
Note the number of
bowing indications I
put in the part; I did
this to help the
rehearsals move
quicker and because
it was a high school
ensemble that
performed it.
For commercial
music, it is NOT
necessary to add the
down and up
indications.

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46

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espressivo

rit. Adagio
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&

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Piu mosso
{ q = c 75}
bw

b
f
F

Symphony No. 2 in D Major, Op. 73

Here is Johannes
Brahms Symphony
No. 2. It is a rare
case of this great
composer
marking in a
phrasing mark for
strings, instead of
normal bowings.
There is no way
the strings could
play all these
notes in one bow,
as notated.

10

Here is one way that

the strings might bow
this work:
We call this bowing
one bow a bar,
because one whole
bow, down or up, is
used for every
measure.
Note the dovetailing
(the practice of
sharing a note
between two
instruments, when one
continues a phrase
after the prior one
finishes).
In this case, it involves
the viola and cello.

11

This is another way

the strings might
bow this work; this
version has two
measures in one
bow, so it would be
softer and sound
more connected.

12

Lastly, here is one other

version that strings might
try.
This version is the least
typical of the three; it is
bowed according to the
way the musical line is
written. In other words,
Brahms wrote this phrase
to emphasis the two note
figure, with a hemiola
rhythm. Hemiola is when
the rhythm implies a two
grouping against a three
meter.
This bowing is over the
bar line (which is not
generally recommended)
and uses more bow than
the previous two
examples.

13

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.

8.

Correct bowings
Commas
Dynamics
Articulations, i.e. staccato, accents, tenuto etc.
Crescendo and diminuendo markings
Tempo markings, i.e. ritard, accelerando, etc.
Good phrasing should be evident in good music
composition and shouldnt be explicitly necessary to
mark in with a simple phrasing marking.
Professional musicians are trained to play phrases.
Bowing is breathing and breathing is singingboth
must be natural.