Slurs and ties
"Don't Confuse Ties and Slurs
The difference is a tie connects two notes of the same pitch (on the same line or space of the staff). A slur applies to two or more different notes and means the two different notes should be played legato."
Some times on playback the pitch of a tied note when crossing a bar-line goes back to natural (or whatever is the default. Is there a setting I need to change or is there no difference between slurs and ties in MuseScore?
Comments
It the notes change pitches, it is a slur.
> Some times on playback the pitch of a tied note when crossing a bar-line goes back to natural
![ScreenShot 346.png]( "ScreenShot 346.png")
You must set both notes to the same pitch in order to obtain a tie. Otherwise it will be a slur.
And on closer inspection, the slur is more bent.
In reply to > Some times on playback the… by HildeK
But the second case would surely be interpreted by a real player as no change in pitch. A "courtesy" flat on the second note is pretty much essential here.
A real player would not have time to study the bentness or otherwise of the line. And even if they did it would be difficult to determine which is a tie and which a slur unless both cases are near to each other to make a comparison. What is more, if real players did notice the difference, they would probably put it down to sloppy engraving and assume a tie even if the line is more bent unless that courtesy accidental is present.
In reply to But the second case would… by SteveBlower
Yes, it is important that the courtesy flat or shap is used here. I just wanted to use the example to show how it works.
And also that the bow in Musescore is slightly more bent, which of course is not recognizable on the sheet music.
In reply to > Some times on playback the… by HildeK
For real musician, I play the violin, I would play both notes at the same pitch. Of course, I know there is a difference between a tie and a slur, but in this particularcular case, I would play both notes as a B. There is no chance you can identify the difference between a tie and a slur while playing. So, if this is the intention, I would put a courtesy accidental on the second note to make it absolute clear. For playback, which I'm not interested in, a clear definition is necessary.
I am externally grateful for all the comments below, but I am still surprised that a slur crossing a bar-line changes pitch on the right hand side of the bar-line - in the MuseScore playback. I grasp the theory and practical implications in real life - my question was really about the play-back. I would hope that MuseScore would mimic real life in this instance? Or maybe not?
In reply to I am externally grateful for… by Torstein Strandenes
Slurs don't change pitches. They just allow different pitches, something that ties don't
In reply to I am externally grateful for… by Torstein Strandenes
indeed, slurs have nothing to do with pitch. They are for articulation.
In reply to I am externally grateful for… by Torstein Strandenes
The pitch of the note is determined by the way it is written and the key signature.
This has absolutely no relation at all with tie or slur.
If there is an impact, it is pitch impacting tie, not the other way around.
And the impact is that 2 notes with different pitches can’t be connected by a tie.
To complete the story, there is indeed an enormous ambiguity between a tie and a slur between 2 notes with the same pitch.
To the point that in real life one will not use slur in these cases as they would be no way to distinguish them from tie visually (except with the help of additional text).
And because of that, a slur between a Bb and a B as illustrated above will be confused by the reader (and that's normal !) and the notes will be played tied with the same pitch.
Bottom line: do not use slur between 2 notes with same (even only apparently) pitch, that would be misunderstood.
In reply to The pitch of the note is… by frfancha
“ Bottom line: do not use slur between 2 notes with same (even only apparently) pitch, that would be misunderstood.”
… unless you are a violinist or similar. Bowed string players are used to seeing two or more notes of the same pitch with both slurs and staccato dots together, indicating that the notes are played with a single bow. They can played on the string as in colle, or with a bouncing bow stroke as in flying spiccato (up-bow) or ricochet (down bow).
In reply to FYI bowed string players are… by Brer Fox
Yes you're right, my "rule" was oversimplified.
There are context where slur between two adjacent same pitch notes will be understood.
In reply to FYI bowed string players are… by Brer Fox
I believe that frfancha was referring to situations where the pitch could be misunderstood, like the B[natural] to Bb situation in the image above. That situation needs a courtesy accidental to clarify the notes, whether they are tied, slurred, or neither.
In reply to I believe that frfancha was… by TheHutch
Yes, I agree.